Say My Name
by Crisis Project
Summary: What would YOU do if every time you heard your name you had to kiss the person nearest to you regardless of who, where, when, how, or even what gender... or... NO gender? Confusion, smut, all the good stuff! Al x Nel Epilogue
1. Chapter 1

**Say My Name**

**Written by** shade vox

**s/v:** This is post game. Possibly some OOC-ness. Also, contrary to the title (thank you to menkosude na for the idea), this is not overtly sexual. Sorry to all the Al-Nel lovers out there.

**Disclaimer:** Star Ocean 3 belongs to Tri-Ace/Ubisoft/Square-Enix.

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**Chapter One**

**Foreshadow**

No matter how many people deny it, no matter how many times they try, all the humans in all worlds and galaxies judge previously unknown things or persons on sight first. The moment I saw Fayt and Cliff locked in that cell, I knew that they weren't really from Greeton, contrary to their excuses. The second sense we use often – on my list anyway – would be the sense of hearing. Listening is an important skill to uncover information both to jabbering gossips and undercover agents. Touch comes next – the exploration of texture, to know the object intimately. Used by many in many ways, it is unavoidable. Taste – well, no explanation needed there. All in all, the sense of smell isn't one that you would consider the most important, right?

How very wrong I would be in the next few minutes.

**Why Cliff And Roger Should Never Cook Together. And I Mean _Never._**

The kitchen smelled. Actually, it _reeked_. The stench was horrible – an acrid smell like a small furry rodent had crawled into someone's mouth and died. Ten days ago. Then the poor guy had realized something was decaying in his mouth and decided to do the next best thing to brushing his teeth – he spat it out to coat the walls. That, plus rotten eggs.

Never will I underestimate the power of scent again.

Nel coughed and immediately clapped her scarf over her nose and mouth in a desperate effort to block out the acrid stench assaulting her. Eyes watering, she tried to get her bearings by the door where she had frozen. Her blurry vision strained against a greenish fog which had taken up residence in the room.

The kitchen Nel had spent some of her time to indulge in her culinary hobby was supposed to be spacious, with white walls and clean white tiles with stainless steel appliances ordered neatly. The high powered lights given from the crew on the Diplo had the duty of illuminating this spacious, clean room.

Not anymore.

The lights were struggling against the fog. The tiles by her feet were coated with brown Apris-only-knows-what. And – Nel peered through the haze – spots of light in the green cloud in the distance? Just as she took a tentative step into the room, there was a small explosion in the distance accompanied by a flare of light and a billow of the fog. Nel doubled over and coughed, gasping, trying not to gag on the taste of the green cloud. In that pose, she heard it – two deep voices in the distance, right by where she had spotted the flare of light. _Two thieves taking a lunch break?_ Nel didn't think it likely. But then again, who would ever have thought to be greeted by a reeking cloud when they stepped into their kitchen? Plus, the rest of the residents of the house were gone, or they should be on their way.

Taking shallow breaths, Nel advanced slowly from the doors. As she neared the source and the voices got louder, she slipped out one dagger. If she were to use two, she would have to remove her hand with her scarf which was definitely not an option. Nel placed the voices as male, one older than the other. One seemed to be ordering the other man, sounding angry. She could sense that she was a few meters away – close enough to hear perfectly.

"Didn't I **tell** you we didn't need peaches!"

"It's **supposed** to have peaches!"

"We need **liver**, not peaches! Pass it over!"

"Get it yourself! Ain't you supposed to be a man?"

"It's **your** fault this fog's here, you stupid brat! Now give it over!"

"Make me, ugly!"

Nel knew an opportunity when she saw – well, heard – one. Darting in through the cloud, she raised her dagger and pointed it to... Cliff?

Cliff and Roger were staring at Nel as if she was something that had popped out of the ridiculously huge pot they were stirring on the oven. Cliff was stirring, Roger was on the table peeling an indistinguishable veggie with a spork. Nel could only guess how. And probably because of the fog being dispelled in huge gulps by the pot, there were two portable light things Fayt had called flashlights propped on the table by Roger's feet so Cliff could see what he was stirring (as if there was anything worth looking at anymore). And maybe Roger was scared of poking himself with the spork without a light source, Apris only knew anything anymore.

Cliff broke the silence. "Nel, what're you doing?" He looked decidedly confused, with a frown tugging on his lips. Nel noticed that neither seemed to mind the stench.

...they couldn't be human. That, or they had stuffed marbles up their noses to avoid the smell somehow. Nel fleetingly wondered if they knew that their once-white chef hats were now turning a murkish green-brown and smoking from the fumes.

"What am I **doing**?" Nel shouted, but it came out muffled by her scarf. She blinked the tears from her eyes and waved her sharp knife in gestures, "I was looking for both of you because we have to get to a meeting now! And instead, I find you making a stink bomb in the kitchen!"

Nel struggled valiantly not to cough. Coughing meant gasping, and gasping meant opening her mouth. At this close proximity with the source of the fog, she would have to be dead or downright insane to do so. Nel doubted that Albel could even take this. It would definitely rank on his _Things I Will Slice to Ribbons_ list. Too bad you couldn't do that with air.

Roger smiled widely, "we're not making a stink bomb. We're cooking! Say, you hungry Nel?" He said it as though it was the greatest thing since sliced bread.

The Crimson Blade glowered as best she could while covering her face and slightly bent over. She decided not to put the knife away. "You can't **possibly** think that this is cooking! Both of you know that you have no talent whatsoever in culinary arts! And weren't both of you banned from the kitchen a week ago?"

Cliff and Roger both looked decidedly uncomfortable by the last remark. Deciding not to wait for their excuses, Nel spotted the oven's 'off' button and lunged in to poke it off with the tip of her knife.

"Hey! We weren't finished that Shark Fin soup!" Roger exclaimed, jumping forward to turn the oven back on. Nel brought him up short with the knife aimed between the midget's eyes. Normally she wasn't one to point sharp blades without a good reason at those shorter than her knee, but in prospect of running out of oxygen she didn't care. Hell, if she could she'd be running out or cutting off her nose, but she had the suspicion that she would need it later.

Nel straightened, and tried to assume her captain identity as much as she could. "Both of you are going to stop this idiocy right now. Put this away somewhere, anywhere but **here**, and you're going to get rid of those brown aprons and hats and get to the Aquios Castle **now,** is that clear?"

Cliff was forcefully reminded of Mirage in one of her 'happier' moods.

Nel disappeared into the fog back from whence she came, leaving a disgruntled Cliff and trembling Roger behind. She found the door and switch panel beside it and immediately turned the fans on. The fog slowly started to disperse mercifully, and Nel opened the doors to let in the fresh air. Mirage appeared in the doorway while Nel was trying to not gasp. Cliff and Roger spotted her and froze with an 'oh, _shit_' look on their faces. If Nel were not trying to pump oxygen back to her starved brain so much, she would have found the situation funny.

Mirage smiled coolly, unflinching at the lingering smell. "Cliff, Roger, if you do not clear out and dump that toxin in a mountain chasm and get to the meeting in fifteen minutes, I'm going to have to break a few ribs. Understood?" With those last departing words of love, she left. Nel, assured that they knew what had to be done, followed.

Cliff was the first to move. "Alright, we'd better go. Mirage gets scary when she does that." He hoisted up the pot from the oven and started to cross the room.

Roger looked up from washing his spork, "what, threaten?"

Cliff grunted, "when she does that **and **smile. Gives me the chills every time she does that. Sca-ree woman."

"Ooooh, Cliff's scared of Mirage?" Roger sang from the sink above the noise from the water.

The Klausian glared over his shoulder by the doorway, "you clean up here while I dump this or I'll make a hamburger out of you."

As soon as the words left his mouth there was a yelp of surprise. Cliff turned to look in front to see Fayt by the window, coughing and peering up at him through watery eyes. "Hey Fayt. You okay?"

"Yeah," Fayt wheezed, wiping tears away. "Cliff, sorry to ask, but what's in that pot?" _One whiff of that, and I feel like I've been rammed by a huge, really smelly pig._

Cliff looked away. "Err, jus' something me and roger made," he mumbled. The pot was still fuming and the contents still bubbling. It was making an eerie hissing noise.

Fayt was now peering into the pot with one hand firmly pinching his nostrils closed. "Is that supposed to be **soup**?"

"Argh! Is it really that bad?"

Fayt backed away a safe distance before opening his mouth again, "actually, yeah." He could still smell it. So he backed away down the hall. _Hell, maybe I should go to Crosell. At least he smells better._

Cliff didn't seem to notice. "Damn it, Elicoor doesn't have a waste disposal..."

Fayt nodded (he was now halfway down the hall and edging towards the staircase). "Yeah, and that looks toxic. Better dump it on the Diplo later."

"Alright, just a minute." Cliff jogged down the opposite way down the hall, leaving Fayt to sag in relief. For a second he'd thought that Cliff would run towards him. Fayt decided he wouldn't go in the kitchen, since that was where Cliff had emerged from. _I wonder why he was trying to cook in the first place,_ Fayt wondered. He remembered vividly the last time he and Roger had tried, and the battle which had ensued afterwards with Mirage. Cliff had ended up with a mild concussion. Roger was found a few hours later strung up the flagpole. The message was clear: never mess with Mirage.

A few minutes later, Cliff had returned and Roger had emerged from the kitchen (without the chef hats or aprons). The three walked down the hallway, with Fayt filling them in about the meeting everyone was called to with the Queen of Aquaria and King of Airygyph. "But I couldn't find Albel, and everyone else should already be there," Fayt finished worriedly.

Cliff snorted as they crossed a bridge, "who cares? He'd only add the words 'magpie', 'fool', and 'worm' anyway."

Roger snickered, "that's 'maggot'!"

Meanwhile, on the wooden floor of a room somewhere, the pot sat bubbling while its toxic contents turned an evil purple.

**In Which The Acid Bites The Acidic**

In the storage room of the huge house sponsored by the Aquarian government, Albel dozed on a table hidden by stacks of crates and barrels. Normally, Albel the Wicked didn't take to hiding in dim rooms. He was accustomed to walking around without a care, for who would attack Albel the _Wicked_? But it wasn't because he was afraid of being attacked that he was now trapped in the storage room. When he had been passing by the sitting room, he'd overheard the female fool Sofia (however you spelled it) gabbing with Leingod about some meeting about arranged marriages. Killing and fighting were on the top of Albel's list. Meetings about arranged marriages were decidedly somewhere at the very bottom of priorities. And if Leingodand the worm had cornered him somehow, they may have persuaded him to attend.

So that had left hiding, which left him in the storage room nobody really used anymore. As annoying as it was, it beat having to sit at a table and listening to Lasselle (the pompous maggot) prattle on and on about things no one really cared about. It wasn't like he would be one of the people who would be stuck in an arranged marriage anyway. And if they tried, the bodies which would be found wouldn't be recognizable.

Albel was slowly brought out of his doze by something warm on his face. Was someone touching him? He felt that poke again, this time on his chin. He opened his eyes and mouth to possibly bite off the finger when he realized that no one was there. No one had found him. So what was that poking...?

Just as he looked up at the ceiling, he realized that something was hissing – not good – and all of a sudden Albel Nox was drenched in warm purple liquid. A second later, something metal landed on his head. Jumping up and swearing up a storm, Albel sliced wood blindly with his claws as he tried to rub the burning liquid out of his eyes. The purple stuff _stung_. Plus it reeked. His whole body felt like it was burning, a bump forming on his head. Stumbling blindly, uncaring whether anyone heard him or not, he made his way to his room down the hall from the storage room and slipped into the shower fully clothed. He'd fix the doorknob he wrecked on his room later. Right now the cold water felt good.

Half an hour later, Albel slipped out of the shower dripping wet and feeling freshly scrubbed. He also smelled like peaches, for some strange reason. _Now, to find out what the hell that was,_ he thought murderously. Nobody dumped stinging liquid on Albel the Wicked and lived to see another day, even if it _did_ make him smell like peaches. As he was about to exit his room, he glimpsed his reflection in the full-length mirror and froze.

A certain four letter word filled the room for another five minutes, punctuating decidedly threatening sentences.

There were damn _holes_ in his clothes! Holes! Whatever that liquid was, it was acidic. Quickly, Albel examined his metal arm. No sign of rusting. Good. But the maggot who made that liquid was going to _die_ a slow and painful death for ruining his favourite outfit.

But first, he had to change out of the wet and ruined clothes.

Snarling in rage at being thwarted again from his pursuit of the unknown culprit, Albel stormed around in search of his wardrobe.

**Down The Rabbit Hole**

Five minutes later the whole gang (minus Albel) returned to the house Aquios sponsored for them (updated with modern technology from the 20th century)with a mixture of relief, hunger, and tiredness. The meeting had been grueling on the nerves. The King Arzei and Queen Aquios had called the meeting to discuss potential ties with the other country in an attempt to unite two old enemies, especially after everything that had happened to their planet during the time Fayt and the others had been off saving the universe. Sophia had had the not-too-smart notion to suggest a mass wedding like what sometimes happened at Earth when dozens of couples around the world married at the same time. Except this time each couple would be an Aquios and Airyglyphian couple. Others would be more than welcome to be married as well, even if they weren't an Aquios and Airyglyphian. The discussion had then delved into location, time, political issues... everyone except Sophia had started losing the battle with boredom. Nel had actually had to smack Cliff on the back of his head to wake him up because his snoring had begun to be more than noticeable (they were starting to rattle the tea cups on their saucers).

Now, no one was in any mood to do anything but to eat. "I'll go make us dinner," Sophia said quickly and darted down the hall. Fayt had the suspicion she had volunteered partly to redeem herself for making everyone miserable for three hours.

Cliff glanced at Mirage, who looked to be preparing to leave for the training room, and said, "I'm gonna go check up on the Diplo. Roger, you coming?"

Roger frowned from the bottom of the stairs, "why do I hafta come? I don't even –"

Cliff quickly tapped him on his helmet hard, "remember you asked me how to contact it from the communicator? It's in my room."

Maria quirked an eyebrow, "since when were you interested in gadgets, Roger?"

Roger opened his mouth to deny it, but quickly changed his mind after the second hard tap by the giant Klausian. "Err – uh – since we went to the 4D world. Y'know, showers and stuff are interesting, so I thought I should learn some more stuff."

"Well," Maria said from the hallway, "if you need any help, let me know if Cliff doesn't."

"Gotcha."

Maria disappeared around a corner with Mirage. Nel stepped in from outside with a slight frown, "Fayt, you said you checked everywhere right?"

Fayt scratched his head, "checked for what?"

"Albel. That scrawny rat was disrespectful for not showing up to the meeting his own king called him to, _and_ the Queen of Aquios."

"Err, yeah." Fayt tried to get his mind to work through the hazy cobweb formed from the meeting.

"Did you check the storage room?"

Fayt tried to remember. _There was a storage room?_ It took several seconds, but finally it clicked. There was a storage room on the first floor, the furthest room down the hall. "No, I didn't. I didn't think he'd be in there, I think it's infested with rats or something."

Nel rolled her emerald eyes and pushed past him, on her way down the hall. Fayt wondered if he should have apologized, then pushed the notion away. Why would Albel be hiding in the storage room of all places? Fayt shrugged and followed Roger and Cliff upstairs and was planning to get to his room when Cliff and Roger passed by Cliff's room and kept going. _Weren't they gonna go to his room to contact the Diplo?_ Fayt wondered. Then another thought struck him, _where did Cliff put the pot?_

"Hey Cliff," Fayt called as he followed them down the hallway, "where did you put the pot?"

Cliff rounded on him with a 'shut up' look. "I didn't have time to go to the Diplo, so I left it in the spare shower."

Every room in the house had a private bathroom. But there was one guest bedroom with the biggest shower that no one used anymore, the farthest room down the hallway. It was reserved for any important guests which may have been passing by or wanted to stay. The last time it was used was for the Killer Chef – he hadn't really needed it, but in the danger of being chopped to pieces and served to others, they had offered.

Now, the trio trekked to the guest bedroom, entered and made their way to the bathroom. Cliff entered first and clicked on the light. Then froze in the door way. Fayt frowned, "what's wrong Cliff?"

"Move it, ya big lump! We've gotta get it outta here without Mirage seeing right! So move!" Roger, as small as he was, was able to squeeze between Cliff's right leg and the door way and stumble into the white tiled spartan clean facility. "Holy..."

Fayt, impatient, and unable to see over Cliff's shoulder, prodded Cliff gently in the back. "Cliff, let's hurry up, Roger's right. We've got to do this fast."

Cliff moved out of the way as if in a dream. Fayt looked around the lit room, noting nothing out of the ordinary until he followed Roger's riveted gaze. On the floor beside the toilet was a ragged black hole. And no sign of the pot anywhere in sight.

Only one thing stuck out in Fayt's mind after his initial shock. "Cliff, Mirage's gonna kill you."

**You Can Run Nel, But You Can't Hide!**

Nel stalked down the first floor hall, ignoring all the doors except for the one at the end of the hall. She couldn't believe (well, she sort of could. It is Albel were talking about) that Albel would actually defy the orders of his own king. On top of that, it seemed as though he really didn't care about uniting their countries after centuries of bloodshed. Including the battle for the universe! Oh, that pigtailed insolent idiot will _pay..._

A noise from the third door on the right alerted Nel's trained ears. This wouldn't have stopped her if the noise hadn't come from _Albel's_ room, and as far as she knew, Albel didn't let anyone in unless they had a death wish. He'd made it clear that he wasn't a morning person when he'd nearly stabbed Fayt in the ribs for waking him up one particularly cranky morning. Anyone who walked in had a death wish. But the noise wasn't the only indicator that Albel was in – the doorknob was hanging out of its socket by a measly spring. Scratch marks adorned the mahogany wood, and there were a few droplets of purple by his door.

Another bump inside confirmed that Albel was in. Grimly, Nel screwed up her anger, planning to raise a storm inside as she slammed the door open and stomped in. "Albel Nox! You are - !" The vision slammed into her shocked brain and for the second time that day Nel was frozen in her tracks. Anger gave way to blankness. Her jaw dropped. She even stopped breathing.

There stood Albel Nox, captain of the Black Brigade, personal enemy, and strangely a brethren in the strange worlds beyond Elicoor… standing in the middle of the room, dripping wet and naked.

Okay, maybe not completely _naked_, but close enough. Nel couldn't tear her eyes away from the black towel slung low around his pale, whipcord lean waist. The towel was sinfully small, stopping above his knees. Even though his skirts were slit to the top of his thigh, he wore leggings to cover the rest of his legs, and the change was mind numbing now. Her eyes traveled up his defined chest to his shoulders, then down his lean arm to his hands which were busy using another towel to dry his hair. Long strands of blond hair stuck to his lean back, in swirls from the washing, as if in a caress.

_Dear Apris, just take me now or hold me back from eating this yummy vision._ She had the horrifyingly embarrassing notion that she'd actually relish each bite.

Just as reasoning was starting to make itself heard in her mind again, Albel looked up with an evil, knowing smile on his dangerously attractive face. "Good enough to eat, fool?" he drawled, straightening. Nel caught herself watching his muscles ripple as he did and commanded herself to _do something_.

She might as well not have done anything at all – it would have saved her more embarrassment.

Her normally graceful Crimson Blade movements became those of a clumsy new born dragon. Stumbling backwards, she tried to turn and move at the same time and nearly tripped but thankfully her hand had found the wall and she scrambled for her life out the door and slammed it shut behind her, Albel's maniacal laugh following her as she raced down the hall and into her room. She leaned against her closed door, gasping for breath, then sank onto the floor as her knees gave out.

_What the hell just happened?_

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**s/v:** Hey! What'd you think? This happens to be my first fic on so let's be nice to the amateur writer and rate and review! Mmkay? - Thanks for dropping by! 


	2. Chapter 2

**Say My Name **

**Written by** shade vox

**s/v:** Only warning in this chapter, and probably from here on, is that there will be light swearing. Light swearing as in not that intense and not often used. Swear words will include from 'bastard' to 'fuck'. If you cannot handle such language, then please find another fic to read. You have been warned.

**Disclaimer:** Star Ocean 3 belongs to Tri-Ace/Ubisoft/Square-Enix.

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**Chapter Two**

**Dancing Black Towels**

_What the HELL just happened?_

She had wanted to say something... Nel tried to remember, but the only thing that popped up was Naked Albel. And small towels. Maybe she should try a cold shower. But no quantity of cold water would ever erase that image from her mind. It was burned into her brain with a sizzling hot brand, and it seemed as though it would be taking residence in her mind for a very, very long time.

She sat there for some time, trying to erase the image... but that sly smile would pop up and then...

And then the skinny bastard had laughed at her.

"Argh! Shut up!" Nel muttered as his laughter rang in her mind. She stood up and went to her own bathroom and blasted on the cold water and washed her face. The water cooled her red face, and she quickly dried herself off when she was finished. Then she realized that her towel was also small. And black.

A second later, Nel Zelpher was tearing out of her room, trying to run away from the image in her mind when something caught her by the shoulder. "Nel!"

Nel whirled around, "what!" Fayt was there, holding up his hands in a harmless gesture. "Sorry, just thought you'd want to know that you were about to fall down the basement stairs."

Nel looked over a shoulder. Yup, there were the stairs, one footstep behind her heels. Thank Apris for her quick reflexes. "Thanks," she muttered.

Fayt looked concerned. "You okay? You're as red as your hair."

"Nothing!" Nel snapped. She didn't need to be reminded of the cause of her blush when she had just got him out of her head. Black towels danced in her vision.

"Okay... I'll go look for Albel then." Fayt turned to go down the hall when he was stopped by Nel.

"Wait. I'll go. I need to apologize anyway." Nel said before she froze in horror. The words had just popped out, yet she knew it was the right thing to do. She'd walked in on him when he had just got out of the shower. Of course she had to apologize. It was times like these she cursed her conscience.

Fayt blinked, "you found him already? Apologize for what?"

But Nel had already gone.

**Floored. Again.**

Nel found herself standing in front of Albel's battered door once again. This time minus the strength to even knock on it. Curse Fayt for mentioning Nox. What was she supposed to say? _Sorry Albel for walking in on you when you were naked... can I eat you? _That would do a serious number on her pride. _Can I have your towel to hang on my wall? _Nope, that was just her imagination speaking.

The door opened while Nel was still in a dilemma and out stepped Albel Nox. This time, thankfully, in clothes. He was wearing the outfit he usually wore with white and blue hair, and she wondered why. He usually wore his violet one. The one with a slit skirt…

"What do you want now, fool?"

She realized that Albel was watching her with an amused and smug expression. She felt the immediate approach of a blush and stepped backwards to create some distance.

Nel finally remembered what she had wanted to say. "The King Arzei expects you at the next meeting, as does the Queen of Acquios."

Albel arched a fine dark brow skeptically. "That's it?"

Nel looked away and let her hair curtain her face as the blush surfaced. "And I apologize for walking in on you without invitation."

"Speak louder, fool. No one can hear you when you mumble like that."

Nel turned and was about to say it again when she saw the amused glint in his crimson eyes. He was flipping _toying_ with her. "I won't repeat myself, Nox. You heard what I said."

Albel smirked. "You're one lucky maggot. Normally worms who have the luck to see me naked don't live in the next five seconds."

Anger flared inside Nel. He always found the right words to incense her fury further. Deciding to leave before they broke out in a fight (even though her hands were itching for her blades), Nel turned away. "You are as insufferable as always, Albel Nox."

A hand gripped her shoulder in a strong grip and whirled her around. About to demand what in the name of Apris he thought he was doing, Nel's words were blocked by another pair of lips. A pair of very soft, defined lips pressed to hers in a chaste kiss.

Of course, this brought the total number of being floored that day alone to three.

And naughty thoughts? Too many to count.

Just as she was getting over her initial shock, the tall Glyphian pushed her away and glared at her. "I hate you."

Nel blinked. A strange silence stretched over the hallway. Why would he hate her? _He_ was the one who took the kiss. Or maybe it was something else? She spoke the only other reason which came to mind. "Don't get mad at **me** Nox. **You're** the one who got himself in trouble with the king." With that said, she pulled herself out of his slightly painful grasp and stalked down the hall.

**Confusion**

Albel Nox stood rooted to the spot, numb, as the Crimson Blade disappeared around the curve of the hall. He pressed his fingers to his lips disbelievingly. He had kissed Nel Zelpher. Then... he thought he remembered that he had said that he hated her. Neither of the two had happened with his consent.

One phrase summed everything up nicely: _What the **fuck**?_

Maybe he was going as insane as everyone thought him to be. Albel was serious about this thought. That or hopefully what had just happened was just his imagination. He hoped beyond hope that this was true. Because when you were a warrior, and made your living off of your battles, having your body act on its own was a scary thing. A skilled person in the art of killing on the rampage was frightening to the community. Imagine what it was like to _be_ that person, stuck in your mind while your body did terrible acts on its own, and unable to explain yourself because you couldn't even speak?

Well, that was one form of insanity. Maybe this was the start?

Voices drifted down the hall and brought him out of his reverie. "You're going to the storage room?" That would be Zelpher.

"Yeah," replied worm number one (Fayt).

"Why?"

"Because the thing we made was somehow acidic." That would be worm number two (Cliff).

A moment of silence as worm number three laughed (Roger).

Then, "you're a dead man walking, Cliff."

"**I know already**!"

Cliff stomped around the corner and nearly straight into Albel. "Don't just stand there!" Cliff growled as he shouldered by. Albel glowered, but decided to not say anything. He had enough on his mind already without the second worm making a ruckus.

Worm number one rounded the corner, with worm number three at his heels.

"Hey Albel. Dinner's gonna be ready in five minutes, so why don't you go to the dining room?" Fayt suggested as he passed by. "We could've given them Shark Fin soup," Roger grumbled as he followed.

Albel debated if he was hungry or not. After just waking up, he didn't feel very hungry. He reached behind himself to shut the door when his fingers brushed his hair. Looking at the blond strands in his fingers, he realized he'd forgotten to wrap them in the strips of cloth (they were _not_ ribbons – men of his reputation did not wear _ribbons_ in their hair). Rolling his eyes, he turned and entered his room again. After a few minutes of searching, he located his long strips of cloth and began the tedious job of wrapping his hair in two long cords. He had long ago mastered this art and could now do it with his mind wandering as his hands were busy. As his eyes roamed his neat and ordered room, he spotted the violet wet rags on the floor beside the hamper. He glared at them as he started on the other cord. His clothes would no longer be fit for wearing – he'd have to get the royal Gyphian tailor to make him a new identical set.

Speaking of which, he still hadn't been able to find out what had been spilled unceremoniously on him, and what had hit him on the head. By the time he had realized to examine the liquid, it had drained in the shower. All he remembered about it was that it was a neon purple and stung.

Finished with the second cord, Albel stood and grabbed a cloth bag from his desk. He shoved the purple rags inside it and tied it shut with some difficulty, vowing to find who was responsible and make them _pay._

Leaving the damp bag by the hamper to take out later, Albel exited his room and remembered when Nel had walked in on him when he was drying himself off. He had known she was outside the door and had definitely heard when she had shouted his name then stopped. He'd even heard her stop breathing as he continued to dry his hair. He felt her gaze travel around his body and had snickered to himself. It was always fun to set up a potential private black mail against his foes. But then, Nel Zelpher was a special exception. In doing this he both teased her and had found out some information of what she thought about him.

Albel chuckled to himself as he walked down the hallway. Her shocked, pink face had been amusing. If he had the chance, he'd do it again.

In the middle of the dining room was a large table which everyone was seated at, scarfing down Sophia's excellent cooking (he'd give the maggot that much credit) while others conversed openly. They didn't seem to find Albel's timing unusual – they were used to the most violent of the group coming and going as he pleased. Albel slipped into his usual spot between Cliff and Fayt, and picked up his fork and knife to start attacking the steak in front of him. Listening in as he ate the succulent steak (medium rare, just as he liked it), he realized that the conversation now was about the meeting. Albel snorted disdainfully as he took a swig from his cup. The maggot (Sophia) was gabbing about which couple she thought would be best to open the ceremony. Only a few others gave half hearted suggestions when she asked when there was a knock on the door. Fayt stood up immediately, "I'll get it!"

Cliff glowered. The lucky UP3 loving bum. He got to escape Sophia's ramblings.

A few moments later, Fayt arrived with a tall man in tow wearing the full Airyglyphian regalia for a messenger. Fayt sat down as everyone turned to pay attention to this important-looking man. Albel vaguely recognized him from court. Sophia had mercifully shut up.

The grey haired man straightened himself up and coughed importantly before taking out a scroll from the folds of his deep red cloak. He opened it with a flourish (the stupid worm was taking too long!) and peered down at it. "I have an urgent message from King Arzei of Airyglyph for the captain of the Black Brigade, Albel Nox. King Ar-"

The moment the first sentence had left the messenger's lips, said Albel turned in his seat, grabbed Cliff's face, and planted a kiss on his lips.

A frozen silence landed on the dining room as everyone stared, jaws hanging, words unable to make themselves heard. The moment stretched into an eternity. Albel Nox was kissing Cliff Fittir, hated team mate. The messenger dropped the scroll. Fayt choked on his soup. Sophia flushed, frozen, eyes wide. Maria whipped out a pen camera. Roger sat gawking, pointing a finger, unable to accuse anything. Mirage was motionless.

The moment passed and Albel thrust the stunned Cliff away. "I hate you."

Another moment passed. Then two. The two were frozen, staring at each other as Albel still maintained the painful grip on the bulkier blonde's shoulders as Cliff just stared dumbly back.

Then...

"**_GET THE HELL OFF OF ME, WORM!_**"

"**_YOU'RE THE ONE ON ME, YOU SICK BASTARD!_**"

* * *

**s/v**: Well, this concludes a more interesting chapter. Hoping for reviews and ratings! Thanks! - 


	3. Chapter 3

**Say My Name**

**Written by** shade vox

**s/v:** No really strong warnings about anything here. Except for the concept of gay people. But no, this isn't a yaoi fic, so please do not be alarmed.

**Disclaimer:** Star Ocean 3 belongs to Tri-Ace/Ubisoft/Square-Enix.

* * *

**Chapter Three**

**All Hail Mirage Koas!**

"**_GET THE HELL OFF OF ME, WORM!_**"

"**_YOU'RE THE ONE ON ME, YOU SICK BASTARD!_**"

And then, as if anyone needed the situation to get worse, Roger finally got his words out.

"Albel... you ain't **GAY** are ya?"

And, of course... chaos ensued.

The battle was disorganized and confusing, where everyone got whacked around the head a lot by Albel's sheathed Crimson Scourge and scratched by his claws. People tripped as Roger dove between their legs ("I see your underwear!" – Roger. Gets stomped on by Maria. Roger: twitch twitch) to try to escape, and getting flipped by Cliff is never fun.

"Then you're a bi?"

"You **really **want to die, don't you!"

"Guys, let's calm down – " there was a sound of a fist connecting with a jaw. "What the hell was that for!"

"Sorry Fayt. Reflex!"

Unnoticed by her brawling team mates, Mirage Koas stood up quietly from her finished meal and smiled at... nothing really. She slipped into the battle happening right in front of the table, ignoring the horrified messenger who was cowering by the doorway. When she was in the thick of the fight, she set to work. Grabbing the nearest people's heads (Fayt and Roger), she bashed them together enough to make them see stars, then went on to grab Sophia's and Peppitta's, then Maria's and Nel's, then finally Cliff and Albel who she put the most force behind.

To the messenger, it seemed as if an angel-like person had just defeated the whole group (including Lord Albel Nox!) and was now standing in the midst of groaning wounded fighters on the floor, smiling. _No, it's a demon. A demon is standing in the rubble_! The messenger looked around in fear and hid behind the grandfather clock.

Mirage dusted off her hands and looked at her feet, where Albel and Cliff were groaning and clutching their heads. With no apparent difficulty, the smaller blond woman picked both men up by their collars and shoved them into their seats and hit the back of their necks.

"That _hurt,_ woman!" Albel finally managed to snarl. In a lesser man the tone would have sounded like a whine. He tried to reach up to rub the part of his head where Mirage and bashed Cliff's into his, but found that he couldn't move his arms. His mind froze. He tried to move his arms again. Nothing. Legs. Nothing. Was this because he really was going insane...?

Apparently not, because Cliff glared at Mirage. "you didn't have to do this."

Mirage grinned slightly, "if I hadn't, you would still be fighting like barbarians."

"No! Still, you didn't have to press that pressure point!"

_Annoying child_, Albel thought with contempt.

"What pressure point?" Albel interjected venomously. He glared at the maggot standing before him.

Mirage acted as if she didn't notice his death glare. "The pressure point behind your neck. When pressed, the signals from your brain are intercepted from traveling down your spinal cord to reach other parts of your body."

Cliff sighed dejectedly. "Meaning we can only move our head and neck now until it wears off."

"Really?" Roger asked interestedly, peering from around a chair leg. He seemed to have recovered first from the others, probably due to the fact that he was wearing a helmet.

Albel glowered. "I'll make sure that you pay adequately later for your cheek, maggot."

"I don't think we should go that far," Fayt mumbled as he helped a dazed Sophia up from the floor and into a chair. Peppitta clambered onto one as well and slumped with her head on the table.

Maria shook off Fayt who was trying to help her and sat in her chair. "Alright Albel, what the hell was all that about?"

"And be honest," Fayt intoned.

Albel scowled. "My body just moved on its own. I had nothing to do with it."

The group stared stonily back at the immobile Glyphian lord, clearly disbelieving.

"That is the saddest excuse for an excuse I've ever heard in my life," Maria declared.

"If you're gay, then just say it," Roger deadpanned. Albel tried to reach for his Crimson Scourge, but was reminded that he couldn't move when his arm didn't respond and opted for a death glare instead.

"I won't repeat myself, maggot. I. Am. **Not.** Gay." Albel hissed. Roger disappeared behind Mirage's legs in fear.

"Then explain why you kissed Cliff," Peppitta piped up.

"Quiet! Don't say that again!" Cliff shouted. "I don't want to be reminded!"

"And I already told you that my body just moved on its own! Since when have I ever **liked** the giant maggot!" Albel shouted back.

Sophia glanced at the stoic Mirage and sensed that a storm was brewing inside her skin. Gulping, she tried desperately to think of something to calm everyone down. "Guys, let's calm down and think about this. Maybe Albel's just in denial or-"

"**_I AM NOT IN DENIAL, WORM! I'M NOT GAY!_**"

**Illumination**

"Actually..."

Everyone turned to look at Nel, who had gone unnoticed until then. She leaning against the window, arms crossed, scarf covering the lower half of her face, and her head bowed so that her hair shielded most of her eyes. Her emerald eyes glittered in the sunset's light.

Albel froze. For an instant, his heart constricted and a strange feeling overwhelmed him. A feeling he had not felt in years.

"Actually," Nel repeated. "I think he's telling the truth."

"You **believe** him? **You**?" Roger gasped in shock.

"Shut up, brat. I'd take this choice over the other." Cliff shivered in disgust.

Nel gave an admonishing glare. "Roger, you're treading on a thin line as it is. I advise you to keep your mouth shut."

Roger gave a meek nod and disappeared under the table.

"What were you saying again?" Sophia prompted.

Nel cleared her throat. "I'm_ saying_ that this has happened with Albel before."

"**_What?_**"

Roger popped out from beneath the table and pointed his finger from Cliff to Albel and back again. "You're **both** gay aren't ya!"

Before either could deny it, Mirage picked up the midget and threw him out the window. "You can listen from out there," she called. The group froze and looked at each other, _this is one scary lady._

"Let's listen to Nel's whole story before we jump to conclusions, alright?"

"Yes ma'am."

Nel coughed to hide a chuckle. "This has happened before with Albel today," she started, noticing that Albel had turned his death glare to her now, silently telling her to shut up and be quiet. She thought she saw a faint pink tinge on his cheeks. "Earlier, after we came back from the meeting, I found him in his room and I told him what the king wanted him to know, then we got into an argument which ended when he kissed me. After that he told me he hated me."

"Y'mean, exactly like what happened here, only this time with Cliff?" Roger asked, popping up beside Nel's left shoulder on the windowsill.

However, most of the group were now gawking at the captain of the Black Brigade once again. "You kissed Nel?" Fayt asked wonderingly. He'd thought like everyone else that Albel hated Nel because they came from two countries which despised the other. Being the captain of the Black Brigade and being the Crimson Blade added even more distrust to the equation.

"I didn't do it because I wanted to! My body just moved on its own!" Albel denied hotly. There was a definite tinge in his cheeks now.

Peppitta giggled, "Albel's a kissing machine!"

This made everyone laugh as Albel glared, temperature and fury rising. He cursed the maggot (Mirage) for making him unable to move. He tried in vain to make his arm move to grasp his sword, but was struck with an idea of revenge.

"But that's not all that happened," Albel said in a tone that he knew would catch everyone's attention. Everyone silenced to chuckles to pay attention to him. He glimpsed a flash of alarm in Nel's green eyes and chuckled inside. _Two for two, Zelpher._ "Before I came out of my room, Zelpher barged in yelling my name while I was getting out of the shower."

Another frozen silence as everyone rounded on the flushing Crimson Blade. "It was an accident!" Nel protested, feeling her face get hot. "I heard him in his room and I went in to send a message from the king to him." She looked around at the array of stunned faces and hid her face deeper into her scarf self-consciously. "He had towels on! He wasn't _completely_ naked, alright?" Trying to find some people who would understand, she scanned the group and spotted the supremely smug look on Albel's face. Her blood was set to simmering as she narrowed her green eyes to slits. _Watch me, Nox. One day I'll skin you alive..._

Which wasn't likely going to happen, but that didn't matter right now.

Thankfully, Maria came to the rescue. "Albel, when did this start to happen? I remember that you were fine at breakfast."

Albel looked sullen now. "I don't know. Around five."

Maria pressed on. "Do you remember anything out of the ordinary? Anything that happened that might have triggered this err... condition?"

Cliff looked thoughtful. "Wasn't this when you were skipping the meeting?"

Albel scowled at the man in the chair beside him.

Mirage raised her eyebrows expectantly. "Well, Albel? If we don't know what happened, we can't properly find a solution to your problem."

"C'mon Kissing Machine! You can tell us!" Peppitta pouted.

"Unless you really **are...**" Roger trailed off, grinning evilly.

That prompted Albel to speak. "Fine, maggots... I was sleeping in the storage room when something spilled on me from the ceiling. That's the only thing I can think of."

At this point, Cliff, Roger, and Fayt exchanged alarmed looks.

Maria considered this in her chair. "Let's sort this. We all went to the meeting and Albel hid in the storage room. While he was sleeping someone spilled something on him, and he went to his room to take a shower. Nel came in, then went out after she realized he just got out of the shower. She came back later to tell him the message. Albel kisses her and then tells her he hates her. That about right?"

Both Nel and Albel nodded in affirmation, trying hard not to look at each other.

"Did you see who did it?" Sophia asked with worry.

Albel glared, half sullen, half angry. "Since there are no corpses lying around, no I haven't found out who yet."

Mirage ignored the others as they shivered at the malicious promise in Albel the Wicked's tone. "What kind of liquid was it?"

Albel looked like he didn't want to answer any more questions, but gave in when he caught the steely glint in the blond woman's eye. "It was purple, and stung. It seemed to be acidic. And smelled like peaches."

Cliff perked up. "Hey, now that you mention it, you do smell like peaches..." He drifted off as he remembered the ingredient he and Roger had argued over in the making of their Shark Fin soup. His heart sank with dread. He knew what Albel had been drenched in. His immediate future when everyone found out, including Albel and Mirage, looked bleak._ More like bloody..._

Mirage noticed Cliff's guilty expression. She quickly glanced back at Roger by the window and caught his stricken look. Fayt seemed to be troubled as well, from the furrow of his brows. She felt the familiar small grin slide back into place on her lips. "Cliff, what happened to the pot I asked you to dispose?" she asked almost pleasantly, but she caught Cliff flinching the smallest of flinches.

Cliff coughed and looked away. He knew Mirage knew now. She knew him better than anyone here. He was royally screwed. _Well, it's all in the open now,_ he thought glumly. "I didn't have time to call Marietta to bring the Diplo to dispose it safely on board, so I left it on the floor of the spare bathroom."

"And?" Albel seemed to have cottoned on quickly, his crimson eyes slits as he waited beside him.

"And yeah," Cliff took a deep breath, "and it seems to have been acidic when you cool the temperature and ate a hole through the bathroom floor to the storage room."

Pause.

"As soon as this wears off, I am skinning you alive," Albel vowed with conviction. Roger gulped and hid behind Nel. Cliff tried to shrug it off, telling himself that Mirage is scarier, which didn't exactly lift his spirits.

"Weren't you two banned from the kitchen?" Sophia asked, puzzled.

"Yeah," Cliff sighed.

"Then why did you try to cook again?"

Cliff caught a look with Roger. "Uh, we were just trying to... see what we can actually make."

Even to his own ears, the excuse sounded so lame. _Scratch that, I won't HAVE a future._

"I see," Mirage said slowly, and her words sent chills down Cliff's spine. Not because she raised her voice or anything, but he knew her well enough to know that she was very, _very_ mad. He wouldn't make it though the day without breaking a few bones to be sure.

"Wait," Maria said, frowning as she looked at the fingers she had absently been counting. "We still don't know what triggers him to kiss someone."

Everyone was quiet as they contemplated. Albel was trying to think back, silently tapping his heel... tapping his heel? With a jolt, he realized he could move his feet. Forgetting about thinking, he tried moving his body. Most of his body reacted to his orders. The only part which was unresponsive was his torso. He gritted his teeth as he realized that his hands and feet were tingling with pins and needles.

"I think," Nel said dryly, "it's when anybody says his full name."

Cliff turned his head to regard Albel quizzically. "Really?" Albel didn't think that he realized he could move his body yet. Fool.

"S'that true?" Roger wondered aloud. Nel spotted the mischievous look on his face just in time just as Sophia spotted Peppitta's. Both reached over and clamped a hand over their mouths tightly as they both tried to say Albel's full name at the same time.

Cliff chuckled. "You owe them for that one, Albel Nox."

Fayt and Nel only had a moment to shoot Cliff an aghast look as Albel rose in his seat and kissed Mirage. The moment stretched as Cliff watched, mouth agape in abject horror. Then, Albel thrust her away, "I hate you."

"Mmhmm," Mirage murmured and flicked his hands off her shoulders, nonchalant. "Well, that confirms it. Whenever someone says your full name, you kiss the person nearest to you. Now, we'll have to work on an antidote, I don't know how long that will take but – "

"**Hold on just a sec**! You just kiss Mirage and –" Cliff stopped in mid-sentence as he found a very sharp katana pressed to his neck. He wasn't scared, but it was pressing against his jugular vein, and any more angry out spurts right now would cause more pressure and the blade just might cut him. Hey, he wasn't the brightest crayon in the box, but he wasn't the dullest either.

"In case you've forgotten **worm**, you're the thing that uttered my blasted name," Albel hissed, grip tightening on his sword's hilt.

Cliff raised his hands and shrugged, "alrighty, sorry man. Didn't mean ta do that, jus' came out okay?"

Mirage pushed the sword away from Cliff's neck (she was strong for a maggot). "We don't need Sophia to clean the whole house when you're finished Albel. We should also start trying to make an antidote. Cliff and Roger will tell us **exactly** how they made it, and we'll ask some of the inventors from the Guild to help out if they'd like."

Albel sheathed the Crimson Scourge and looked disdainfully down at the shorter blond woman. "It seems you're the one with brains of this pair, maggot."

Mirage smiled calmly at the nearest thing to a compliment Albel could give. Then she gripped Cliff by the forearm and he winced slightly. "Since it's already late, we'll have to work out an antidote tomorrow. Everyone, just remember to not say Albel's full name."

"Yes ma'am," everyone said unanimously.

There was an unfamiliar cough by the grandfather clock. "Ehm, excuse me but..."

**Dilemma**

The forgotten royal messenger from Airyglyph sidled out from behind the grandfather clock with dignity and dusted himself off. He picked up the scroll he'd abandoned on the floor when the fight broke out and shook it out. "I have a message from King Arzei of Airyglyph for Lord Albel –"

"**DON'T SAY IT!**" everyone shouted in alarm.

The messenger stopped, looking miffed. "I was not about to repeat my mistake, I assure you. Shall I continue?"

Fayt and Albel nodded. "And make it short," Albel commanded, eyes glinting ruby red. He was not in the best of moods tonight. He could _feel_ his reputation become warped, and being laughed at was never an enjoying past time.

"Very well," the messenger inclined his head and ruffled the scroll importantly. "King Arzei of Airyglyph would like to request for Lord Albel's service in a mission. This mission concerns the elimination of an underground conspiracy group who are intent on disrupting the peace between Airyglyph and Acquios. If you should choose to accept this mission, Lord Albel, I will relay the confirmation as soon as possible and enclose to you details of the mission given to me by the King."

The group looked from the messenger to Albel in the dimming light of the setting sun. Maria got up and flicked on the lights. The stoic expression was visible now on Albel's face. "I shall accept the King's request."

Nel looked up, "but if you do, then you'll have to go in public. Or what if you find the leader and he addresses you with your full name? It wouldn't leave much of an impression if you kissed the leader in front of the group."

Cliff crossed his arms and sat down in his chair again, "you've got a point."

"But he can't go around plugging his ears all the time," Fayt pointed out as he patted Peppitta on the shoulder to wake her up. "You should go to bed," he whispered.

"Looks like you're gonna have to stay cooped up here until we make an antidote," chimed Roger.

This earned Roger a crimson glare. "I will **not** stay here like a bloody coward! I have been requested to exterminate pests, and that is what I will do."

"But seriously, Nel's right," Fayt chipped in. "You'd be left open and vulnerable when you kiss someone out of your will."

Maria looked up from the table with a strange look in her blue eyes. "There is a way to counter this problem for now until the antidote is created."

"What?" Albel snapped impatiently, crossing his arms and looked haughty.

Maria crossed her arms as well. "Here are the choices," she replied coolly, "one, you can stay here until we make an antidote. Two, you can go running off on your own and get killed while hitting on some guy. Three, since you probably won't let someone do the mission for you, you can bring someone along and act as your spouse."

Albel stared, as Peppitta giggled from the doorway. "I like the third idea bestest!" Then, as an after thought she added, "but you can't ask me to do it."

"I wasn't **going** to, maggot," Albel glowered. He didn't like any of the choices except for the second, but he could see her point with that one. "I could always slaughter everyone in sight before they have the chance to say it."

"Highly unlikely," Mirage said emotionlessly. "If the king has asked you, then he would probably have already asked others to do it, and obviously they've failed. Meaning that this conspiracy party is more cunning than you would think."

Albel snorted and looked away.

"...Well, I can't. I'm with Fayt," Sophia smiled feebly as she caught Albel's exasperated '_Don't-flatter-yourself-I-didn't-even-consider-you' _look.

"And Mirage's with me," Cliff joined in.

"I ain't gay! I ain't going!" Roger exclaimed as he hopped down from the window sill.

"You were never an option, Roger. You helped create this mess, so therefore you will be in the workplace helping to make an antidote," Mirage said over her shoulder.

Peppitta wrinkled her nose, "I don't even **like** kissing."

Everyone looked at Maria. "Don't even think it," she shot back.

Which led to everyone looking at Nel Zelpher.

_This has been a shitty day_ she thought glumly.

* * *

**s/v:** A little R&R please? 


	4. Chapter 4

**Say My Name**

**Written by** vox shade

**v/s:** hey, just wanted to say thanks for all the reviews! XD I didn't know if you should respond individually (remember, vox is still a rookie here) so I'm just giving out an all around thanks.

**Disclaimer:** Star Ocean 3 belongs to Tri-Ace/Ubisoft/Square-Enix.

* * *

**Chapter Four**

**Blackmail Is A Girl's Best Friend**

Nel frowned and glared. _This has been a shitty day_ she thought murderously. First she'd been laughed at by Albel for walking in on him, then she'd been kissed by the insane murderer, and embarrassed again to the whole group. She was definitely _not_ in any mood to accompany Albel on the mission of eliminating a conspiracy party when he was a kissing machine and pretend to be his girl friend.

Apris, she needed a tub of double fudge chocolate ice cream right now to calm her grating nerves.

Maria broke the staring contest. "Nel, I think you would be the best candidate to **pretend** to be Albel's companion."

Nel had already known that. But that didn't stop her from being pissed. She'd already forgiven him of killing her subordinates in war, since she'd killed just as many of his. Then a strange bond had formed when they'd traveled beyond Elicoor, both strangers in the worlds of high technology and where one stray touch could get you electrocuted. But now they were back on Elicoor in Peterney, five months after they'd defeated Luther. But during those five months he'd become the usual Albel the Wicked, and didn't show a flicker of friendliness, or as friendly as he could get anyway.

"I don't need her," Albel spat out, gripping the hilt of the Crimson Scourge.

"And you think I **want** to?" Nel shot back.

"Whoa, calm down guys," Cliff said with an easy smile.

"**You're** one of the idiots who started this," Albel snarled.

"I'm going to bed," Peppitta called groggily and exited the room as the grandfather clock chimed nine o'clock.

"Think of it this way," Maria said with an edgy patience. "Nel is capable of fending for herself and won't hold you back. She has a network of information you can tap into. If you are seen together in public then it will further demonstrate the trust between Airyglyph and Acquios. Political issues may even lean towards peace. You can cover twice as much ground between the two of you, and two heads are better than one anyway. Plus, Nel isn't a man, so don't complain."

Nel sighed, resigned to her fate. She'd known it would come to this, and she couldn't argue with Maria's logic. And she'd wanted to help out as well, because her country was at stake. She didn't want to fight another war on her planet again. She didn't want to kill any more people just wanting to defend their homes. But when asked to fight for her Queen, she would not hesitate, and she knew that neither would Albel.

"Fine," she sighed. "Just don't expect any special treatment."

Albel seethed. "I will **not** tolerate –"

"Albel," Maria cut him off, her temper now evident as she rose from her chair. "This is logically the best way to complete the mission as fast as possible. And while you try to find the culprits, **we** will be working to find an antidote for **you**. Stop complaining, or I will be forced to make some rash moves."

Albel narrowed his crimson eyes to slits. "Like attempted murder?"

Maria smiled grimly. "No, I'm talking blackmail."

"What kind of blackmail?" Cliff asked with interest. Mirage and Fayt turned to look at the former commander of Quark as well.

Maria fished out her pen camera from her pocket. "I'm talking about photographic blackmail. I took a picture of Albel and Cliff when they were kissing."

She gave a satisfactory smile at the horrified looks from both men and the smiles of glee from the others. "If you do not comply Albel, I will be forced to make life size posters of these pictures and post them up everywhere. From Acquios to Airyglyph." She was dead serious as she slipped the significant pen into her pocket once again. Fayt remembered it was the same pen she had whipped out when the two men had kissed, even though the memory was slightly blurry because he'd been choking on his soup at the time.

Cliff recovered first. "Albel, you'd better do as she says man. If you don't, our images are ruined. Well, not so much mine, but yours definitely."

Albel was still staring incredulously at the calm blue haired teenager, now flipping her hair over her shoulder in a self-satisfied way. _This wench is going to die,_ he thought. Which was immediately followed by an involuntary, _women are scary,_ thought.

Then he set his mind about, trying to come up with a better solution which would not involve his exposure as a homo (which he most definitely was _not_), and would avoid letting anyone else call his full name. The search was unfruitful, as he had the gloomy feeling it would be. Anger spiked at this. He so hated to lose.

"**Don't** think this means anything," Albel relented murderously. He released his hold of the Crimson Scourge and crossed his arms and scowled.

The messenger nodded with satisfaction and stepped up to the captain of the Black Brigade holding out a different scroll from the one he had read off of. "Enclosed in this are the details of the mission, as well as some information the King thought you may find of interest." Albel accepted the scroll as the messenger stepped backwards and gave a deep bow. "Please excuse me," he said trimly and exited the dining room, casting one last furtive look over his shoulder at Mirage.

"Well," Mirage said, resting a hand on Cliff's shoulder. "I need to talk to you, Cliff. Now, if it's alright."

Cliff half rose out of his seat, scratching his head. "Uh, actually, Fayt was gonna show me... I mean..." The taller Klausian let out a breath and straightened, "fine, now's good."

Cliff followed Mirage out and the group had the impression that they'd never see him again from the dejected slump of his shoulders.

Maria stretched and tucked in her chair. "I'm gonna go to my room. No one bothers me, got it?"

"We know," Sophia chimed as she stood up as well. "G'night everyone."

"'Night, Sophia," Fayt, Nel and Maria replied. The two girls left the dining room, chatting lightly.

"I think I'll turn in too," Roger said around a yawn. "A man's gotta have his sleep!"

"I'll go with you," Fayt said, standing up.

Their footsteps receded into the hallway and up the stairs, leaving Albel and Nel. Alone.

Nel tucked her hair behind her ear and ordered herself to ignore the tall Airyglyphian as he stood there and watched her. If he wanted to scowl and stand there all night, it wasn't her problem. Besides, she had things to do. The household had a rotating chore shift, and tonight she was the one stuck with dinner clean up.

She slipped off the armor for her arms and gloves, and set to work gathering the dishes. She could actually relax a little as she usually did whenever she did chores because that was the time of day she reflected. Usually about the day, information, or just her life in particular. Since the defeat of Luther she'd been restless, so she'd taken up as many missions as possible whenever offered by her Queen. And whenever she had nothing to do, she felt well, purposeless. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy relaxing every now and then with her friends, but she preferred work.

Turning on the facet (Maria had taught her to use the installed sink), Nel began to clean the dishes. Tomorrow would be her turn to make dinner, if she was home. She might not even be home, due to her new mission with Albel. And now that she knew that he had not kissed her because of some weird mood swing, she felt less tense around him. As confident as she was, she refused to go around alone with a potential rapist.

_Well, this mission shouldn't be too hard_, she mused. She'd ask Tynave and Farleen to spread the word and look out for suspicious groups or any information at all pointing to one. There was bound to be a few, but since the King of Airyglyph was worried, the group had to be different from the rest. It was sort of surprising to hear of a conspiracy group as well – she thought she'd cleaned out most of them last week in a spurt of restless energy. The only part she dreaded about the mission was the part that she had to act like Albel's … she didn't want to even _think_ it. But she had shocked herself when she'd walked in on him. She'd actually _liked…?_

"Wake up, fool."

Nel looked over her shoulder at Albel, snapped out of her thoughts. He had an amused smirk playing around his lips. "You've been staring at the water for a good two minutes now."

Nel turned her back to him and started to clean the dishes. "And you've been standing there doing nothing for a good ten minutes. What do you want, Nox?"

Nel could tell Albel scowled when he answered. "The king wants us to travel to the Sacred City first thing tomorrow and inform the queen of the conspiracy group. Then we're to report to him."

"Fine. On our way to Airyglyph we can stop by Arias and I can talk to Claire," Nel said absently as she ordered the dishes on the drying rack.

Albel snorted. "Don't think we can take time off for you to chat with your friends. I want to get this over with as soon as possible."

Nel rounded on him incredulously. "I'm not going to **chat** with them, I need to put them on the alert for suspicious information. Of all people, I thought you'd know that I place my duty over everything else!"

He shrugged. "You always seem to be sitting in that couch upstairs eating ice cream whenever I get back."

Nel glared, cheeks flushing, "I've only done that twice this whole month!"

Albel snickered and turned away, "I'm just being kind enough to remind you, fool, that you have no time to relax on this particular mission. And you can't bring that ice cream with you."

Nel propped her damp hands on her hips and glared. "Don't worry, I won't. And I wasn't aware you had a single bone of kindness anywhere in your body, Nox. And another thing – don't think you can treat me like dirt on this mission. I won't stand for it. In any case, we're supposed to act as a couple. But if you don't, I'll have to seriously consider locking you in a room alone with Adray and yelling your name through the door."

He turned back to face her, eyes crimson slits. "You wouldn't," his tone dripped venom.

Nel flashed an almost Albel-ish smile. "Don't test me, Nox. I'm warning you."

Emerald eyes silently battled with ruby eyes, demanding the other to step down first. The only sound in the dining room was the sound of the water running in the sink, forgotten by both of them. Seconds ticked by. A thump was heard from upstairs. Probably Cliff being hurt.

Finally, Albel sighed disdainfully and looked down scornfully at Nel. "I don't need to waste more time on you, fool. Get up early tomorrow, and we'll leave for your precious Queen." He left the room in a swirl of navy skirt and steel, body language clearly communicating that he thought her so inferior that he could turn his back to her and not worry a bit.

Nel's hands itched for her knives so much they were twitching.

_Damn the bastard!_ Nel thought furiously, whirling around and slamming the facet off. At the rate the two of them were needling each other, they would end up killing the other instead of the conspiracy group. Then she grinned as she remembered what she'd said. _Or, instead of killing each other, Adray would be confused to why Albel's hitting on him._

**Message In A Bottle.**

Albel swept up the stairs after leaving Zelpher behind, slightly tense. She wouldn't _actually_ lock him in a room with the scum would she? He'd thought he'd learned more of her during the time together, but apparently she'd hidden a more vicious side of her. Not that he was one to talk, but to kiss the withering old worm… he shuddered. If it came to that, he'd jump out the window.

He reached the landing and immediately spotted the short Menodix standing by a slightly ajar door in the hall, listening intently. He didn't seem to notice Albel's presence yet, so he just walked on when he heard a snatch of the conversation inside.

"-last time you nearly exploded the oven. Why was that?"

"You know why! Look, I'm sorry Mirage, okay? We just-"

There was a sound like a hammer hitting a nail, followed by a yelp.

"Alright, sorry sorry! We thought the chicken needed more heat, so I installed some more fixtures…"

Realizing it was Cliff and Mirage, Albel slowed his pace. Roger had winced when Cliff had been hit, but seemed as though he couldn't pry himself from the door. What ticked Albel off was the fact that Roger was hiding out here and smirking when Cliff was taking all the credit for the failure. What he hated more than incompetent worms were those who couldn't take responsibility for their actions. So Albel casually touched the wall with his right hand and kept walking, keeping contact with the curving wall until he reached Roger. He made sure he put enough force into his leg when he brushed by him, and succeeded in making Roger fall on his face inside the door. Albel kept walking with a smirk as there was a pause of silence, then…

"Well, thanks for dropping in Roger. You've come at the right time."

"Uhh, actually, I was on my was, er downstairs. Seemed to've lost my way, haha. Sorry to bother ya, I'll be leaving…"

"Nuh-uh man. You're staying, brat."

Snickering to himself, Albel made his way to Fayt's door and knocked before opening it. Inside was Fayt typing on one of those things he called 'computers', but he looked up as soon as he had entered.

"I want my stone back, Leingod."

"Sure." Fayt wheeled around and walked across his room to pull down a small stone from a shelf. "You need it for the mission right?" he asked as he handed it over.

"What do you think?" Albel rolled his eyes.

"'Night Albel."

Albel grunted in response and left the room. Leingod was far too familiar with him to be comfortable. Was this a trait of being a leader? At any rate, Leingod was one of the few he could tolerate for a while out of the whole group, and he also had grudging respect from him.

Trotting downstairs, he turned into the hall and glimpsed Zelpher going into her room. She turned at the sound of is footsteps then slammed the door behind her. He sneered at her door as he passed by. _She'll wish she'd never been asked to do this_, he thought wickedly, slipping into his own bedroom.

The night passed with no incident, and Albel was the first to wake up as per usual, before sunrise. He was a light sleeper, due to the fact that he was visited with nightmares, and would always wake in a sweat. But they only occurred whenever he had a stressful day, but those days had lingering affects.

Quickly and efficiently, Albel dressed himself and equipped anything he thought he'd might need. It wouldn't take them long to reach the Sacred City from Peterney. He'd pick up a few more items from the grocer's if he felt that he needed it later.

Flicking on the lights, he looked around to see if he missed anything. A sparkle caught his eye and he focused on the window. Sitting on the open window was a corked clear glass bottle, with something inside. Albel frowned. He didn't remember that bottle from before. Crossing the room in wide strides, he snatched it up and examined the specimen. The glass was expensive, and the bottle was well made. The cork was coated in gold dust. Inside was a rolled up piece of parchment. Quickly, Albel looked outside, scanning the landscape for any presence before uncorking the bottle by stabbing the cork with one of his claws and wrenching it out with a '_pop!_' sound. He shook out the parchment and recognized the texture. Setting aside the bottle, he unrolled the high quality parchment and read the message, first with slight confusion, the second time with anger.

A moment later Nel was startled awake. A loud voice was cursing in her dark room. She reached under her pillow and grabbed a dagger, then turned and sat up. In the doorway was the person she least wanted to see in the beginning of the morning. Albel Nox was tangled in the trap she always set every night by her doorway, slicing the ropes with his claws and showing impressive skill for colourful language.

She lowered her dagger. "Nox, what do you want **now**? It's before dawn!"

Albel glowered at her as he yanked off the last few ropes and approached the bed angrily. "**This** was on my window," he said, thrusting a paper in her face.

She took it and noticed it was in face expensive parchment instead of paper. Scrawled on it in green ink in flowery cursive was the following message:

_Lord Albel Nox,_

_It has been brought to our notice that you are the one King Arzei has sent to eliminate a certain conspiracy group. We are in fact, not a conspiracy group – we are merely business men who seek to make profit from war. I am sure that such men such as ourselves enjoy war, maybe for different purposes, yet it is the same thing we seek. We ask you to refuse the king's offer, and we will reward you handsomely with anything you fancy. If you should decline our offer, we will be forced to put certain significant individuals in, ah, danger, if you will. _

_ -Daddy's Little Rich Boys_

Nel stared. There was a _heart_ next to their signature. A _heart_. She felt a shiver in disgust. Glimpsing Albel's murderous expression as he sat down hard on the bed, she re read it and told herself to take it seriously when all she wanted to do was laugh at the sheer pathetic-ness of it. On the third try she pieced it together and looked up at the stoic man whose only expression was apparent in his flashing eyes.

"So basically, if you don't refuse they're gonna kill a few people," Nel said, suppressing a snort of laughter.

Albel glared. "And who would these targets most likely be?"

Nel stared, trying to get her brain to work when it was far too early in the morning. Targets, target… 'significant individuals'… Her head snapped up so fast her neck hurt. "The king and queen!"

Albel smirked, "realization dawns."

Nel jumped out of bed, "but we have to go! Now!" She looked impatiently at Albel, who had looked away and started grinning.

"You might want to get changed before we go," he snickered.

Nel looked down at herself and felt her temperature shoot up a few hundred degrees. Since Albel had barged in without notice, she hadn't had time to change from her night wear. Which consisted of a skimpy pair of deep red bra and matching panties, with a sheer embroidered night gown over it.

"I never thought that'd be your style, although I'm not complaining," Albel said dryly.

"I didn't buy it! Claire gave it to me as a gift!" Nel raised the dagger in her hand threateningly, even though all she wanted to do at the moment was grab the sheets from under Albel and wrap herself in it until she was a cocoon. She started shivering in the slight cold of the morning.

Albel hadn't flinched at the sight of her poised dagger, but merely watched. Then, he slid his normal hand down to his sheathed sword, and Nel tensed... but his hand passed it by and grabbed the sheets. He stood abruptly and Nel's vision was blocked by deep green as the sheets were flung over her. With a startled gasp, Nel tried to get out from underneath, but was held immovable when two strong arms latched around her body in an uncompromising grip.

There were a few minutes of frustrating silent fighting where Nel tried to wriggle out of Albel's grasp as Albel kept his arms wrapped firmly around her. Nel didn't try to use her dagger – she couldn't see, and swinging her dagger around recklessly was stupid, no matter how much she wanted to do it. And even though she was furious – she _really_ didn't need this at the crack of dawn – her energy ran out, so that she was slumped in the dark, panting hard, sweaty and held in an iron grip against a warm body which made her sweat even more. And for some damned reason, she was trembling. Maybe she used too much energy so early in the morning.

So she stood there, panting, trembling, sweaty, knees shaking, blind, tired, refusing to say anything because it felt as though if she said the first words she'd lose some kind of battle. But slowly, as time passed, she found herself leaning against the warm wall behind her, drifting off, relaxing her grip on her dagger. She caught herself just as she felt Albel shift, then suddenly his voice was speaking in her ear.

"You're trembling."

Nel's temper shot up again and she twisted around again to free herself when with a shock, she fell with a painful jarring of bones on the wooden floor. She quickly thrust the blankets off and looked around for the bastard when she spotted him in the doorway holding the bottle and message, smirking at her.

"Consider it payback for looking at me when I got out of the shower, worm."

Ten minutes later Nel stormed out of her room, fully clothed, fuming, and suffering throbs in her temples. How could he have taken advantage of her so easily like that? Or worse, how could she _let_ him? She was slipping, losing her grip fast. There was something about him that got under her skin. She'd kept a fair distance before – Nel concluded that she was going insane because of the mission and the circumstances of her position in the mission. It couldn't possibly be due to anything else. She just needed to become adjusted to the circumstances and she'll be back to normal. Nel paused by the kitchen door (the kitchen has two floors. Strange) and took deep, calming breaths. It wouldn't be right if she entered the holy castle in a full-blown wrath.

When Nel had calmed down, she pushed the kitchen doors open and stepped in, noting that the lights were already on and the humming of machines filling the room quietly. Looking around, she didn't spot anyone so she went upstairs, leaving the workshop part of the kitchen behind. Emerging on the second floor, she nearly jumped a foot when she heard the sudden the clang of metal and the screech of metal scraping on glass. There could only be one other person up this early in the morning.

Nel rounded the metal appliances and rubbed her eyes through the bright white lights to be welcomed by the sight of Albel the Wicked about to kill the oven. He was kicking it in apparent frustration, and shifting around a handled pot sloshing with what sounded like water.

"...idiotic useless complicated piece of crap created by filth, **work** you heap of junk!"

Nel couldn't help it anymore, so she let out a small chuckle as she approached. Albel glared at her and ceased his abuse.

"What are you laughing at, worm? You took long enough!"

Nel snickered and reached past him to turn the knob on the oven to make the coil underneath the pot turn cherry red with heat. "You need to turn the knob to make this work."

Albel looked from the knob, then back to her, then brushed past. "I don't need it. Don't assume I was trying to cook with that thing anyway. And hurry up!"

She almost forgot her anger as it gave way to amusement as he stomped down the stairs and eventually out of the kitchen. Turning, she turned the knob to 'off' and took the pot off of the oven and to the sink. She'd spotted the ramen wrapper beside the pot on the counter earlier, and chuckled again. Who knew that Albel the Wicked, so competent in battle, wouldn't know how to boil water for ramen if his life depended on it?

Nel's stomach alerted her to her hunger, and she set about to making two bentos. Albel hadn't made his breakfast, and he should be hungry by now. If he fainted when traveling, he'd only drag her down. Or that's what she kept telling herself anyway, even though he'd woken her up before dawn, aggravated her beyond belief, embarrassed her...

_Think about that later_, Nel told herself firmly as she set about pulling out the ingredient from the fridge.

Nel left a note on the dining room table, saying that she may not be home in time to make dinner and the first place she'd be visiting would be the Sacred City of Acquios. Grabbing the two wrapped bentos and sliding her arm armor back on, she dashed out of the house and down the street as the early morning shoppers were starting to filter in as the sun poke its head above the line of roofs. She wove her way around milling wives and old chatting men to Peterney Square, scanning the crowds for any sign of navy blue skirts or clashing black and blonde hair.

Nel spotted Albel sitting alone at a table by the shop in the center of the square, cold and untalkative as the serving girl fumbled in front of him, asking him if he needed anything.

"I don't need anything. Leave."

The serving girl flushed and stumbled away, making her way to another table with whispering older women staring at the back of Albel's head. Nel frowned and went up to stand beside the chair opposite of Albel, setting the wrapped bentos on the table. "You didn't need to say that."

Albel eyed the wrapped boxes in front of him. "The maggot was pestering me."

"You didn't have to word it so rudely."

"Since when did you become my mother?"

"Since I found out that you couldn't even boil water or be polite to strangers."

"Shut up. Worm."

Nel crossed her arms and glared at the stoic swordman as he crossed his arms as well and looked away. _What a pain in the ass. I can't believe I have to pretend I **like** this bastard._ Nel took a deep breath and calmed herself down. She had to be _calm_, entering the Sacred City in a full-blown rage was disrespectful to Apris. And by Apris, was she hungry.

"Here," Nel said, and swept a bento towards Albel as she picked up the other.

He looked down at it, but she caught the gleam of interest in his eyes. "What is it?"

Nel had stuffed the cloth in her pocket and started to eat her bento (teriyaki chicken, rice, salad) with chopsticks. "Chicken and rice. Some salad. And don't just sit there, we need to get moving."

Albel seemed to debate about it, and it seemed his stomach won because he stood up and picked up the bento without a word or gratitude.

"**I See."**

"...and therefore we believe that you and the King of Airygylph are in danger." Nel bowed her head down again to look at the red carpet as she rested on a bent knee.

The Queen had taken the news in a stride, as Nel had known she would. The serene expression on her face had never wavered when Nel had told her about the conspiracy party, or the potential threats.

"And you just **let** them threaten Her Majesty without scouting around and looking for them? What if they had followed you?"

Too bad Lasselle couldn't keep his mouth shut as gracefully as the Queen could.

Nel looked up chillingly at the advisor. "We've only received the missive this morning, and we hardly need to be followed for them to know where the Queen spends most of her time. I had thought that this was common knowledge, as usually queens spend time in their castles."

Albel snickered behind her. He'd refused (as always) to bow to the queen, or even to his own king, so he'd stood behind Nel with his arms crossed as she had explained everything.

Lasselle glared, "regardless, I-"

"Silence, Lasselle." The Queen of Acquios commanded and looked at Nel. "We do not doubt you, as you have served Us well in the past. We give you full permission to survey Our country, and whatever you may need you may relay the message or speak directly to Us at any time."

"Serves you right, annoying scum," Albel smirked as his red eyes landed on the furious advisor.

"Now **see here** –"

"Lady Nel," the Queen said quietly and beckoned with a finger. Nel approached the throne and stood on the second step, a respectful distance away from her as the two men argued.

"Yes, Your Majesty?"

"We are curious to know how you may work cooperatively enough with Lord Albel to complete this mission. We know that you have accomplished much together in the past, yet We have heard information that Lord Albel has returned to his former state prior to your adventures during the last five months. What is your guarantee on this mission?" The Queen gazed at her expectantly.

Nel bowed her head and stifled a smile. "Actually, Your Majesty, we do have a guarantee. You see..."

The conversation went by as the two men continued to argue (Albel was starting to swing his claw around). The Queen looked up with a shadow of a smile on her deep coloured lips.

"Would you like a demonstration, Your Majesty?" Nel asked politely.

"Yes, We would."

This time Nel couldn't suppress the smile as she turned to face the two men at the bottom of the stairs. "Lord **Albel Nox** shall be accompanying me from here on," Nel made sure her voice was loud enough to carry over their argument.

And the result was not disappointing. It was priceless.

Albel Nox, grabbing Lasselle, hated pompous advisor and general stuck up idiot, kissed him. There was a moment of total silence that fell over the court as everyone stared. Nel thought she cracked two ribs just by holding her laughter in.

The Queen smiled. "I see."

* * *

**v/s:** well, this one didn't come out as well as I thought it would. Comments? 


	5. Chapter 5

**Say My Name**

**Written by** vox shade

**v/s:** Hey guys! Thanks for all the support! XD Just wanted to add that this fic will also include action. If we had a third genre, it'd be action for this one. Just giving you a heads-up 3

**Disclaimer:** Star Ocean 3 belongs to Tri-Ace/Ubisoft/Square-Enix.

* * *

**Chapter Five**

**With A Flick Of The Wand And... Sorry Cinderella, Y'gotta Wait Until I Get This.**

"Again."

"Again."

"Again."

"Again."

"Aga-"

"**What do you think I'm doing, woman!**"

Nel sipped her hot chocolate and looked over from the cloth covered desk at the frustrated swordsman sitting across from her on the opposite chair. He'd been trying to summon symbology for almost two hours now.

They had come to stay at Arias after the meeting with the Queen of Acquaria. They'd traveled from the Sacred City to Peterney where they had dropped in quickly at the house and picked up a few forgotten items, then had made it to Arias on their way to Airyglyph just as the storm had kicked in. Now it was raining in torrents and streets were flooding. The sky was dark, the absence of the sun casting a black veil over the town. Candles were lit inside as the source for light, and fireplaces lit for both light and warmth. Once Nel had spoken to Clair, Tynave, and Farleen, both Nel and Albel had decided to stay in Arias until the storm had passed.

During the journey, Albel had been colder and said fewer words since the unforgettable kiss at the castle. They'd traveled in uncomfortable silence, to say the least. And whenever he did choose to speak, it would be one word answers or harshly worded questions. But in a way this also benefited them because he'd focus on distractions and would sweep through the monster-ridden areas with shocking speed, leaving a trail of gore behind him.

Nel had finally apologized (even though she'd been asked by the Queen to do it anyhow) when he'd become unbearable in Arias. She'd approached him while he was in his room, sitting in the dark alone. When he didn't reply to her apology, she'd pressed on to ask how she could make up for it. To her surprise, he had answered instantly.

"_Alright, how can I make it up to you?"_

_Albel looked up at Nel from underneath his bangs, giving him a feral look. "I want you to teach me symbology. Today."_

_Nel blinked. This was not what she had been expecting. Maybe being a slave for his chores or something for a week, but certainly not this. "...Teach you symbology?"_

_Albel narrowed his eyes. "You said you wanted to make it up to me. You can do that by teaching me the bloody symbology."_

_Nel lit the candle on his desk with a design traced in the air above the wick, then closed the door and sat down in the chair by the desk. "What do you want to learn?"_

"_Symbology."_

"_What **kind** of symbology?"_

"…"

_Nel sighed, feeling the first waves of a headache. "Then we'll have to start with the basics."_

That had been a little over two hours ago. Nel had then retreated to her room to grab a few textbooks containing certain symbology, and a thermo of hot chocolate and two mugs. Then she'd sat him down and proceeded to teach him the first symbol – fire bolt, since he was so big on attacking. That had ended when he'd nearly set fire to his own braids (well, at least he succeeded in summoning it). They had tried ice needles, but he wasn't successful with that one. Nel didn't try to help him with earth glaive or thunder flare, since she could see the potential dangers, the ruination of Arias' headquarters being one of them. So they'd switched to common support symbols.

And it was failing miserably.

Albel had scratched a light cut on his forearm, and had been trying to heal it for the past forty five minutes. The situation would have been funny, but the amusement of bossing Albel around for once had worn off early in the first hour of practice. Nel knew it would take a while before he mastered any one of them. He had avoided symbology before, claiming that it was a cheap way of fighting. But to have a sudden interest in it now was a bit strange. Nel wondered why he wanted to learn so suddenly.

It was also curious that she did not feel tense or like she was in danger being alone with Albel in a small dark room together.

A knocking on the door brought her out of her train of thoughts. "Come in," Nel called. Then she mentally hit herself because she'd caught the look on Albel's face and remembered that this was his room.

But it was too late now. The door swung open and in stepped Tynave and Farleen, wearing slightly confused expressions. Both women were holding a bag each. When they spotted Nel with Albel, their eyes widened in slight surprise, yet they kept this to themselves.

"Good evening, Tynave. Farleen."

"Good evening, captain."

"Good evening!"

Nel kept the wince of Farleen's high falsetto inside, even as she noticed Albel's lip curl. She pressed on, hoping that the two would leave unscathed if they were quick enough. "What is it?"

Tynave saluted her (the bag was in her left hand). "We are aware of the time, yet were put with the duty to check every room and replace the light globes. Lady Clair apologizes for the blackout."

Light globes were a new invention, patented and licensed by Misty Lear. These crystal globes emitted a soft white light which could be adjusted with basic runology. However, they were susceptible to high frequency tremors, or the occasional strong storm. When such things happened, the globes would flare out and the spells would need to be renewed for it to activate once again. Of course, if tremors and such did not happen, then the spells, according to Misty Lear, would have to be renewed every five years.

"Just a moment, please," Farleen said, skipping towards the light globe fixtures in the walls. Nel watched as they both worked together to invoke the runology required to both globes in Albel's room. The soft white light illuminated the back half of Albel's room first, and Nel waited to adjust her eyes. She glanced at the dying candle on the table between Albel and herself. She blew it out, seeing no need for it anymore. Looking up from the wick, she caught Albel looking at her strangely. It was only for an instant, but it was there. Before she had time to pursue it farther, he looked away, his mask back in place with a tinge of annoyance as he watched Farleen skip around his room. Nel sensed that Farleen may be in danger. She was well aware that not many could tolerate Farleen's voice. But Nel was also aware of Farleen's ability and had taken her in as a subordinate, and she knew Farleen had considerable courage. Being in this room with the man who had defeated her twice was proof of that.

Nel tapped Albel's leg underneath the table with her foot. He glared at her from across the table and she shot him a look meant to warn him not to do anything to the girls. He only kicked her back. Nel winced and glared, reflexively kicking back harder. Albel let out a low growl and thus the kicking fight started.

At surface level, both Nel and Albel seemed to be reading textbooks in different states of disrepair. But below the table feet were connecting with shins, heels cramming toes, knees knocking around, all hidden by the table cloth. Nel suppressed a sound of pain as she looked up from her textbook and kicked Albel particularly hard in the middle of his shin. A thump sounded as Albel bit down a curse as his knee hit the top of the table. Nel smirked and went back to pretending to read her decrepit tome, crossing her legs in an effort to keep them out of Albel's range.

"Captain?"

Nel looked up. Farleen and Tynave were standing together by the door, looking at her strangely. "Is everything under control?"

Nel suppressed another yelp of pain as Albel's steel-toed feet connected with her knee. With a wincing smile, Nel tried to look innocent. "Everything is fine, Tynave. Just a new invention Albel thought up. He said that it's supposed to work like this."

Farleen peered down at the table cloth, which was now silent. "What is it? Can we see?"

"No." Albel said, glaring from underneath his bangs, crimson eyes glinting murderously. Farleen wisely backed off, clutching the black cloth bag to her chest.

**Kaboom!**

Nel noticed the bags in both her hands and Tynave's. "What's in those bags?"

Tynave looked down at hers. "Well, we found these outside headquarter doors, so we figured that they were garbage bags. But when we looked inside it seemed to be an incomplete gift of some sort."

Farleen opened her bag at that point and withdrew a plush stuffed pink bunny (think bunny races). "This is the gift. Inside Tynave's bags are some gadgets and tools we thought the person was using to complete it."

Nel was interested. She hadn't known someone was working on a gift who was taking residence in headquarters. "Could I see it, Farleen?"

"Of course, captain."

The bunny was transferred and Nel lifted her eyebrows in surprise. The rabbit was heavier than she'd expected. Lifting it, she examined it closely. After working in the Inventor's Guild for nearly a year, she could analyze items with precision. The material used to cover the stuffed animal was soft, and expensive. She placed it as velvet. The eyes were also crafted perfectly and polished, probably made of the most expensive black glass. Overall, nothing was really worth noting except that whoever had made it had a lot of money, and that it was abnormally heavier than what a normal stuffed animal should weigh.

"Give me that." Albel took the bunny out of Nel's hands and flipped it around, looking at it with a furrowed brow and a slight frown. Nel glanced at Tynave and Farleen, whose shoulders were faintly shaking with suppressed giggles. They exchanged glances and tried not to look at each other. _Who knew that Albel the Wicked was into cute, pink stuffed animals?_

A chair clattered back and fell as Albel violently rose and dashed for the door. With a cry of alarm, both Farleen and Tynave were shoved out of the way as the swordsman dashed through the banging door just as Nel got up and dashed in pursuit of him. She didn't know what he thought he was doing – she veered around a corner – and she didn't know what exactly she was doing following him anyway. She just instinctively ran behind him, keeping up three meters behind as he dashed through the flickering darkness of the corridors Tynave and Farleen hadn't restored yet. The sudden exercise burned her muscles, but she was used to such sensations, as this was required from her occupation.

"Albel!" Nel shouted as they dashed up the second flight of stairs. She received no response from the Glyphian as he lightly ran up the stairs and disappeared out of sight as a crash of thunder clapped. Nel rounded the stairs and saw the open door to the roof. Running out, she peered around through the rain for any sign of her partner. She was about to call for him again when a flash of lightning illuminated the roof for the briefest of moments. During that time she was able to locate a silhouette by the chimney, crouched over something. Stepping lightly through the dark and mindful of the slippery tiles, Nel walked almost blindly towards where she thought Albel would be. She almost jumped when her rain-chilled hands made contact with a shoulder.

"**Albel, what're you doing**?" Nel shouted above the noise of the rain as she crouched beside him. Albel didn't reply and she struggled to focus on what he was working on in the dark. Squinting through the curtain of rain, she realized that the small shape in his hands was the stuffed pink rabbit, now being dissected by his claws. Shredded, more like.

Nel clutched his wrist, regardless that it was the mechanical one. "**What are you doing? That's not even yours!**"

Albel ignored her and kept clawing through the fabric and cotton stuffing, the material now ruined by the rain as well. The eyes seemed to look up and ask for help from its black glassy depths. Just as Nel was debating whether or not she should try to persuade him at the tip of her daggers, Albel stopped. "**Look at this**."

This time Nel didn't need a flash of lightning to see what Albel was looking at. There, in glowing red digital numbers was a timer in a black box with wires connecting the different parts together, counting down from 00:07:21. Her mind comprehended the situation immediately – although smart bombs were a relatively new invention, the Crimson Blade and the organization used them often for infiltrating and distractions during missions. They had quickly become the newest hot item for dangerous occupations. This particular one had a timer set to go off in close to six seconds.

Before she could even wonder why the bomb was at the front of headquarters, Albel had seized the stuffed animal and stood up. Nel half rose from reflex and quickly looked around for a safe place to throw it. Then she realized that they were in the middle of a town, with no where close to throw it to so it could explode safely out of harm's way. But Albel was on the ball already as he wound his arm back and threw the bomb straight up blindly as hard as he could. As soon as the bomb had cleared his hand, he turned and grabbed Nel by the shoulders.

With a whirl the world spun as Albel knocked Nel off her feet and both rolled down the slope of the roof. Nearly blind and vision blurred by rain, Nel hung on for her life as she became disoriented, wondering when they'd stop rolling, wondering when the bomb would go off in their faces.

She was not disappointed.

A clap of deafening sound, then a brilliant flare of light accompanied by energy sent out from the source, evaporating water around it. Pressure pressed chips of tiles to the roof, water out of the gutters. After that brilliant blast of light for a the briefest of moments, it disappeared, leaving only the steady down pouring of rain, leaving everything in sudden silence.

Eyes wide, drenched, Nel raised her head from Albel's chest and locked startled gazes with crimson eyes.

**Tracing Suspect... Tracing... Tracing... **

The rain had let up in the morning, leaving the village in sunlight as the clouds passed by a clear blue sky, leaving no trace of the violent storm. Likewise, the rain had washed away any trace of the bunny bomb which had exploded above the roof last night.

Nel let out a tired sigh and tucked her cloak in her knapsack. That was the last item she'd needed to pack. The Crimson Blade looked around her room and made sure she'd packed everything. Yawning, she straightened her belt and her daggers, hoisting her small bag on a shoulder. She hadn't been able to sleep a wink after the bomb incident. After it had exploded, she'd had to file a report which had taken an hour or so, then she'd been kept up by adrenaline and wild imagination.

She'd been saved by Albel. Who would have thought? Last night she'd wondered about whether she'd been crazy or something, but the truth was moot. Albel had pushed her out of harm's way, and had kept her safe (even though he'd been nearly constricting her in his arms). This evoked a mixture of feelings... a confusing mixture to be sure.

And the more pressing matter – the bomb. It didn't take a rocket scientist (or so Cliff usually said) to deduct that _Daddy's Little Rich Boys_ had sent the bomb. Not only was it _too_ coincidental that the bomb had been sent when Nel and Albel had reached Arias, but that materials used for the invention had been expensive, too. Nel remembered that the conspiracy group (sad excuse thereof) had sent a message in an expensive glass bottle and parchment. Obviously they had the money. Perhaps they had hired an inventor to make the bomb for them.

Nel was starting to feel a personal spike of anger now. Their letter to Albel had not been surprising – expected really – so she had not felt any insult from their high-and-mighty tone. But to endanger her subordinates, when she knew that they did not know that she was accompanying Albel, was something that could not go unnoticed by her temper. Essentially they had risked ordinary civilian lives, uncaring about their fate as long as they had ridden the problem.

Brooding, Nel stepped out of her room and trotted down the hall and the stairs, returning greetings from the residents in headquarters. She stopped by Clair's room and bid her farewell, ordering Clair to get more sleep when she tried to escort her out.

Albel looked up from where he was leaning against a tree by the Arias headquarter doors as Nel stepped out into the village. She had a preoccupied expression, her eyes a shade darker than their usual clear emerald. His heart skipped a beat and he scowled. It had been doing that a lot recently. As if being cursed, having to do this mission, and bombed wasn't enough, his heart had decided to take upon itself its own schedule of responding rather strangely whenever this woman was around.

Nel was now gazing off at the horizon, lost in thought. Albel sighed and stepped towards her. "You took your sweet time."

Nel seemed startled to see him standing there, her face open and vulnerable for a split second. His heart did another skip (traitorous bastard). Then she seemed recollect the events which had happened and was opening her mouth to retort when simultaneously two sets of beeping chirped in the air.

Albel rolled his eyes and ignored it while Nel fished in her pocket. He knew what the beeping was. It was from the Inventor Guild's communicator they gave to each registered inventor in Aquaria and Airyglyph. It alerted the inventor of new inventions, shop stocks, etcetera. Usually Albel ignored it, knowing that the beeping would end in ten seconds.

Sure enough, the beeping ended just as Nel flipped her communicator on and began reading the contents and listening to the worm (he thought her name was Welch, or something close to that) ranting about the newest developments.

Albel strode up to her, "woman, we don't have all day. Move."

Nel didn't budge. Albel quirked an eyebrow and looked down at the top of her red head. He'd expected a retort of some sort, rather than the silent treatment, although that itself was a highly probably option as well. Using his considerable height to look over Nel's shoulder, he focused on the item of Nel's scrutiny – the Guild communicator.

And on the screen, revolving against a green backdrop and description, was the bomb bunny.

Albel forgot about rushing to get to the king as he stepped back and roughly fished in his bag and pulled out his own communicator. Flipping it open, he quickly scanned through the list of new inventions and selected the Bunny Of Doom. The pink bunny popped up on screen, twirling on the spot slowly. Albel took a moment to confirm that it was indeed the bomb from last night before reading the description beside it.

_Bunny Of Doom_

_This unique, one-of-a-kind bomb is in fact not very special at all. Most of the work seems to have been made on the outward appearance of the weapon, while the core, the actual bomb, is almost as primitive as the Duck Bomb. The cute surface of the bomb induces the question of whether the inventor wanted to target kids instead of adults._

_Inventor: Count Noppin_

_Price: 1 600 Fol_

_Quantity: 4_

_Rating: 20_

_Rarity: 70_

Albel's calculating gaze focused on the inventor. Count Noppin. Another pompous, idiotic, worthless and disgusting piece of filth. Not only did he pay others to make things for him, but he took the credit as well with that condescending attitude of his. He remembered when the filth had actually managed to stay in the royal castle, pissing everyone off with his complaints and boasts… he should have killed him while he still had the chance. Leingod was an idiot for recruiting the unnecessary scum.

"Albel."

He looked up and was met with Nel's determined, sparkling emerald eyes. "Do you know what this means?"

Albel looked at her, then snorted. "I'm not an idiot, woman. Noppin's the one we're after now."

Nel nodded. "It's highly unlikely he would involve himself in such matters, but we should investigate. Fayt situated him in the workshop in Airyglyph."

Albel smirked and tucked his communicator into his bag. "Then let's move."

They had walked about three steps when the door of headquarters banged open. "**Hey! You two leavin' already?**"

Dread struck both their hearts as Nel and Albel reeled around to see the shirtless father of Clair Lasbard – Adray Lasbard – marching out into the sunny morning light with a stern look on his face and an odd flash in his eyes. Albel recognized that spark. It had been the same spark which had been there when Adray had asked Leingod if he were single, and if he would marry his daughter.

Immediate instinct: **_RUN!_**

Second instinct: **_Don't run, idiot! What of pride?_**

_Screw pride! It's not worth having a worm like him a father-in-law! _Stricken between feelings, Albel caught Nel's gaze as she looked from him to the approaching older man, who was beginning to show signs of a wild smile. And that's when it struck him.

Albel turned to Nel with determination, and an eerie calm. This was the only way to escape. Whispering quietly, moving his lips as little as possible, Albel spoke. "Say it."

A confused look from Nel.

"My name, woman, just say my name!"

Albel was close now, and getting closer. Almost three meters away. Albel implored Nel as best he could with his eyes, snapping at his pride to shut the hell up and go sit on a bed of hot coals somewhere.

Three meters... Two and a half. He could hear Adray's deep breathing now, becoming louder with each step he took. Cursing himself, Albel was about to stop Adray right there and tell him no, he wouldn't marry Clair even if he offered himself as a servant when Nel matched his gaze and gave the tiniest of nods.

"You owe me one, Albel Nox."

His body was seized by puppet strings for the fifth time as he moved forward and grabbed Nel's shoulders and bent his head toward her. He had a brief glimpse of Nel's wide, almost vulnerable green eyes before his lips touched hers. The moment was… pure, for lack of a better word. The chaste kiss touched something within him, stilling his skip-happy heart for a blinding instant. _Is this what it feels like to be totally, irrevocably alive?_

Then the moment was shattered before his body had begun to retreat for the ritual "I hate you".

"**_Albel, why didn't you tell us sooner that you'remarried toLady Nel?_**"

* * *

**v/s:** sorry, no embarassing kisses for Albel today. Can't keep repeating myself, now, can I? Comments please! 


	6. Chapter 6

**Say My Name**

**Written by** vox shade

**v/s:** Wow... it's been a while. The last time I posted was in the summer! Ouch. Sorry to keep you waiting guys homeworka nd school were my jailers and were feeding me crummy hours of free time. But thanks for all the support for this fic! And keep them coming! XD

**Disclaimer:** Star Ocean 3 belongs to Tri-Ace/Ubisoft/Square-Enix.

* * *

**Chapter Six**

**Tranquility.**

Nel snapped her communicator shut and tucked it into her leather bag sitting in the chair beside her. The small platter in front of her sitting on the white metal table was empty but for crumbs littering around the rim, fork lying beside it. Nel Zelpher sighed and relaxed into her chair, surveying the sun-drenched central square of Kirlsa. At noon, the square was fairly busy with shoppers, loitering teenagers, and people chatting with each other in a comfortable atmosphere.

Nel and Albel had arrived at Kirlsa three hours ago, and upon arrival had gone different ways immediately. Nel, to check out the outfitter and Albel to go on a few errands he hadn't informed her of. And it was taking him damned long to complete them. While she'd finished shopping two hours ago, she hadn't seen a hair of him anywhere since. This had left her parking her butt outside a café in the square for two hours, stuck between insane boredom and frequently checking her communicator.

She'd confirmed that Count Noppin was indeed residing in Airyglyph through Welch. But one thing stuck out in her mind – Noppin was primarily a writer who invented books. Why would he invent (or ask his workers to invent) a bomb for him, much less a bomb like the _Bunny of Doom_? It didn't fit, and she suspected a hand from the conspiracy group. That, or Noppin was a member.

Albel had been remarkably quick. Faster than Nel had expected. He'd realized that the bunny had been a disguised bomb even across the table when she'd been studying it, ignoring the ticking as part of the background noise of headquarters. In the end, he'd prevented the harm of herself and her subordinates, if not saved their lives.

Sinking her head into the cradle of her hands propped on the table, Nel was about to drift off when a flash of black and yellow caught her eye in her peripheral vision. Her head shot up and she cursed silently as she rubbed her elbow where she had banged it against the back of her chair.

Albel melted out of the crowd, contrasting the usual earthy colors which were in fashion with his navy blue clothes and steel armour. He seemed decidedly disgruntled and slightly disheveled as he crossed the square, eyes on the table where she was at. Nel squinted – there was something behind him, waving. She realized it was the white end of one of the ribbons Albel used to tie his hair in two cords. This was unusual. He usually kept the impeccably tied and knotted, so that no loose strands fell out.

"Where've you been?" Nel asked lightly, sensing that this was not the time to let her impatience win when Albel was clearly in a bad mood.

He slipped into the third chair, the one opposite her. He arranged his sword and bag to his liking before answering her question. "Speaking to my men. Alerting contacts. What you did in Arias."

"You spoke with Woltar," Nel stated. It was the most logical explanation.

Albel nodded as he noticed her empty plate. "Hungry, were you?"

"You should be, too. We didn't have breakfast today, and we've been traveling."

"I ate already."

"Wonderful. Did you boil the water yourself, or did you have someone else do it for you?"

"Shut up. Maggot."

Nel watched him, noticing the slight tiredness in his pose and the way he seemed to be thinking of something else. He must have run into some sort of trouble while she had been relaxing in the golden sunlight. She found that she was slightly irked that he hadn't asked her to help him. But that was to be expected. His pride barred him from asking honestly for help, she found out. Like in the morning at headquarters in Arias. He could have easily taken a kiss on his own and pretended that they were a couple like they had agreed to be, yet he had made her say his name for him. Insulting as it was, she understood that this was part of who he is. _But that doesn't mean I like it_, she grumbled to herself.

Albel sighed and closed his eyes. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yes. But I don't think you are."

Albel cracked open a crimson eye. "How so?"

Nel stood up and rounded around the table and dragged the chair with her bag on it with her to situate it beside him. He only glared at her warily out of the corner of his eye. Nel raised her hands to indicate nothing was in either, then reached for the unraveled cord.

Albel suddenly shifted. "What are you doing, woman?"

Nel showed him the unraveled end of the white ribbon as an answer.

He snorted. "Leave it. I'll do it on the way."

Nel didn't relinquish her grip and tugged him back down to his seat when he tried to stand. "As tired as you are? You look like you're more likely to collapse of fatigue than be able to fight our way through the Traum Mountains. So be quiet and sit."

Albel eyed her once again, half risen out of his seat. Nel rolled her eyes. "If you don't sit down in the next five seconds, I'll cut them both off."

After a second more of debate, Albel conceded and sat down in his chair. "Don't botch the simple task, woman."

"I'm doing this as a small favor, not as a servant. Don't move."

She took the silky blonde strands in her left hand and the ribbon in her right. Studying the pattern he used to tie the rest of his hair, Nel grasped the idea and simply followed it while her mind was on overdrive. Albel Nox was presenting her with his unguarded back while he dozed. The implication of his trust spoke in volumes with this one simple act. Nel smiled faintly to herself as she worked, feeling a strange yet comforting calm in the sun.

"**Omigosh, it's Lord Albel!**"

**An Intelligence Level Below Room Temperature Is A Dangerous Thing To Have.**

Nel winced at the high-pitched and loud squeal and nearly yanked Albel's hair as of result. But she managed to suppress her body's natural reflex and looked up instead.

Standing by their table was a Kirlsa waitress. A scantily clad young woman of about twenty, and it seemed that both of her breasts were competing with the other to see which one could pop out of her low-cut top first. She seemed familiar with Albel, because she chose that moment to set down the glass of water that had been precariously balanced on her tray on the table, then walked her fingers up Albel's flesh arm resting on the table.

Nel couldn't see Albel's face, but she did hear the annoyed tone in his voice as he brushed her fingers off. "What is it that you want, Esme? I thought you were to be married come autumn."

Esme fluttered her long black lashes at him disgustingly. "How could I choose between Gary and you? I can't possibly keep myself pried away from you for so long!"

"Easy. Your chest would have prevented him from reaching the altar. Him and everyone else in a ten meter radius," Nel muttered under her breath as she tugged the ribbon into place and tucked the end to hide out of view. Albel's shoulders trembled with suppressed laughter, and Nel half smiled as she noticed.

Esme didn't seem to notice Nel's comment and her smile broadened because naturally she thought that Albel had laughed at her flattery. "What say you that we spend some time catching up with each other, hm? The park, theatre, then maybe my place when we're tired?"

_Apris, this girl is unbelievable_, Nel thought with exasperation. Not only was she wasting her and Albel's time, but she was also making her temples throb by the pitch of her voice alone. Plus she was ignoring Nel as if she didn't matter or exist. Sighing because it didn't seem as if they weren't going to go anywhere soon, judging from Esme's unceasing prattle, Nel reached rose and reached over Albel's shoulder for the glass of water.

"Esme, we'll be leaving now. We have a mission to complete."

"Already? But just think of it! The perfect couple – Esme Fontaine and Albel Nox…"

The waitress stared with a comical kind of horror as Albel, the one she practically worshipped, turned in his seat and captured the red head who had been sitting behind him for the longest time in a sensuous kiss.

Then he withdrew and gazed at her almost tenderly. "I hate you."

The infuriating bitch smiled. "I hate you, too." Then she turned her glittering green eyes to Esme and her smile turned cold. "I suggest you reserve your proposal for another man. It seems a waste you turned down your fiancé – Lord Albel will not be wedding you after all the trouble you went through to ask him to marry you in two seconds." She draped her arms around Lord Nox's neck and laced a delicate hand into his thick black hair, all the while smiling. An obvious sign of possessiveness and satisfaction. "Sorry for the late announcement. It was a pleasure to meet you, miss. If it's not too much trouble, could you fetch a margarita for the two of us? One glass, two straws, rim frosted with sugar. Thanks."

Nel held her laughter in as Esme shook with fury, angry betrayal and jealousy clear in her brown eyes, flapping her mouth open and close in an effort to retort but nothing came out. In the end, Esme seemed to settle for quiet dignity because she lifted her chin up and twirled on her heel and walked away without a word, across the square and into another café across the street. Nel finally let out a chuckle. It seemed she hadn't been working in this café after all.

A moment passed by as Nel savored her victory. It was a petty victory, but a victory nonetheless. She'd never liked girls like Esme Fontaine, always prattling about fashion (green isn't in fashion, _gold_ is) and eligible men (only if they had money and of impeccable reputation), tending to their appearances constantly (does this make me look fat?), shying away from such amateur duties such as taking out the trash or starting fires in the hearth at night, standing around and smiling because they really had nothing intelligent to say.

Nel so hated idiots.

"How long are you going to hang on my neck, woman?"

Nel stiffened in surprise. Quickly she withdrew her hand from his silky black tresses and stepped back, suddenly embarrassed with the awareness of her actions. Albel quickly rose form his seat like it was on fire and hastily grabbed his bag and started walking towards the west gate.

Nel quickly followed, staying a step behind. With the full awareness of what she'd just done came slight embarrassment and a surprise at her own daring. Sure she'd been trained to take immediate action when the situation called for it, but even this was more daring than usual. _I didn't do anything wrong,_ Nel reassured herself and her pounding heart. _We're supposed to pretend to be a couple anyhow._

So then why was her heart beating so fast?

"Captain!"

Nel looked up at the call and with an uncharacteristic start, realized that they were already at the gate to the Traum Mountains. A knight in full armor was hurrying from the side of the gate, leaving the two guards. "Lord Albel N-"

He stopped in mid-call, staring as the red haired woman clamped her hands over both of his captain's ears. Even stranger, Lord Nox seemed to be suffering from a fever. It was the only reasonable explanation for his flushed appearance.

"**Get off of me, Zelpher**!" Albel commanded, grasping her wrists above his shoulders.

Nel kept a firm grip on his ears and looked around the taller man's shoulder expectantly at the knight. "You, knight. Don't call Lord Albel by his full name. Please do not question this request, and I warn you now that if you do you will embarrass your captain highly."

"What do you **want**, woman?" Albel snarled, tightening his grip. But Nel steadfastedly held on, arching a brow at the knight.

The knight fidgeted, not knowing what to do in such a bizarre situation. Wouldn't his captain have normally thrown her over his shoulder by now, as he usually did to anyone who so much as touched a hair on his head? "Erm, thank you for warning me before hand. I shall be careful not to make this mistake."

The woman nodded with approval and finally relinquished her grip on Lord Albel's ears. He rounded on her with fury blazing in his eyes. "What is the meaning of this, Zelpher?" he asked calmly, controlled. Danger emitted from every word.

The knight held his tongue in surprise. The woman called "Zelpher" (was she _the_ Nel Zelpher?) only crossed her arms at his words, and amazingly she didn't seem afraid. The knight glimpsed a defiance in the remarkable woman's green eyes. She nodded to the knight, "he was about to say your full name, **Nox**." The knight was shocked to detect scorn and slight amusement in her tone. This pretty red-haired and green-eyed woman was insane, and very soon to be dead.

But to further his shock, Albel only seemed to survey the lithe woman and turn to look at the knight with a strangely comprehending look. Then it was gone as he nodded curtly.

"What is it that you wanted to say, soldier?"

The knight straightened and saluted by placing his right hand over his heart. "Lord Nox, I have been sent by Lord Sin to alert you that he has obeyed your request."

Albel nodded curtly. "Give him my thanks."

The knight saluted again and trotted off south of the gate. Albel started off again, and Nel kept up with him in strides. She mulled over the things she'd just heard. Obviously Lord Sin was one of the contacts Albel had just talked with. She frowned. _I thought I knew all the lords under Arzei…_

Silence reigned as Nel and Albel trekked through the freezing Traum Mountains, each absorbed in their own thoughts. Upon arrival in Airyglyph, they agreed to head for the castle at once.

"I need to take care of some business. You go to the fourth room on the left on the second floor and unpack. I'll be ten minutes." Albel turned swiftly and vanished into a stone corridor of the slightly cold castle of Airyglyph.

Nel rolled her eyes and decided that she might as well get to the room. Since Count Noppin should be located in the workshop in the city, she could afford to keep her stuff somewhere close since they didn't have to go far. And it didn't hurt to escape the people staring at her either in the castle. Apparently word had gotten around about Nel and Albel accompanying Fayt on the quest to save the galaxy.

Ten minutes later saw that Albel and Nel walking out of the royal castle in a flurry of whispers and snow together, walking down the chilly streets in their less-than-suitable-but-preferred clothing.

Nel didn't know about Albel, but she was freezing her butt off. While she could stand such frigid temperatures out of necessity, her endurance had an end. Her motivation to escort Fayt and Cliff had strengthened her endurance, and the other times they had not lingered overlong in Airyglyph. And even then they had periodic rests in a warm house by a fire. Luckily they were heading to the workshop where they had a blazing furnace. Nel looked at Albel's back in front of her, taking the brunt of the chilly wind and freezing snow. How could such a skinny man hold so much strength in such a small body?

Was he warm?

**Two Sides of the Same Coin**

Albel turned sharply into another lane and spotted the workshop door marked by the Inventor's Guild insignia on the wooden sign hanging over it. With a sharp rap, he opened the door and stepped inside, feeling as if he were doused in a bucket of warm water. He heard the door shut as Zelpher stepped in behind him. The furnace was blazing, people were bustling, some strange smells hovered in the air, the workshop was filled with tinkering noises and punctured by the slams of a hammer against cherry-red metal… and no Count Noppin in sight.

Albel glared around as people started taking notice of them, searching in case the bastard had gotten wind of their pursuit and had hidden underneath a table or something pathetic like that.

Nel walked around him with a scornful look and approached one of the inventors sitting at a desk. "Hello, Stanice. May I ask you a question?"

The purple-haired girl looked up and smile from adjusting her in-progress doll. "Why, hello Lady Nel. You may certainly ask, and I will answer as best I can."

"Do you happen to know where Count Noppin is? I asked Welch, and she said that he was stationed here in Airyglyph, yet I don't see him here."

"Ahh, yes… Count Noppin…" Stanice looked up and a zoned-out expression took over her already half-asleep looking face. Nel frowned and shared a strange look with Albel before waving her hand in front of her face as a trail of drool trailed down the girl's chin. She suddenly spoke with her eyes staring up at the ceiling creepily, her voice sounding far off. "I believe he left at about seven yesterday evening. He said we were not to disturb him because he was meeting with an important client. He didn't say where he was going or when he was coming back, so we just forgot about him… now that you mention it, he's been for quite a while. It's been quite peaceful." Stanice said all this while still staring at the wall, hands fiddling with the doll in her hands, her eyes half closed yet… strangely menacing in the flickering light.

Nel stepped back with an uneasy smile. "Thank you, Stanice. You've been a big help."

The strange girl half turned in her seat and smiled oddly at Albel (picture a mellowed version of the exorcist girl… there ya go). "Any time."

Albel and Nel were gone in half a second.

**The Hunt Continues**

The bell hanging over the door chimed as Albel and Nell staggered into the expensive tavern from the violent winds outside. Fire blazed in large fire places and threw light across rich maple wood, gleaming tables set with silverware, the scent of sandalwood tinted the air just enough to be refreshing and remind customers that they were visiting a very wealthy place.

Nel scrutinized their surroundings closely. If what Stanice had said was true, then the business that Noppin had gone off to attend would probably be with Daddy's Little Rich Boys. The chances of the group lingering when they had called the meeting yesterday was highly unlikely, but you could never tell what desperate, greedy and not to mention rich men would be willing to do in order to make their ends meet.

Her gaze swept to Albel, who was now talking with the uncomfortable clerk behind the counter. Although his words seemed to be making the other man tense, his own stance was relaxed, as if he didn't care that he was in dangerous territory. Nel frowned as she walked by and looked around at the half filled room, noting nothing really out of the ordinary. Perhaps she was just a bit paranoid…?

"The worm was here yesterday, like that girl said." Albel said as he walked around Nel and up the the little platform to where the tables were, talking as he walked. "Apparently the worm was here with a few nobles for a while, talking the corner."

Nel followed quickly behind him as they wove around tables, making their way to the farthest corner where the light of the fireplace barley reached. There seemed to be a large shape sitting on the table, unmoving. "Assuming that Noppin's still here, when did the nobles leave? Did you find out who they were?"

Albel scoffed as they drew near the table. "The bartender doesn't know. Said that they had fol enough to order enough drinks to sedate a dragon. We'll know soon enough if they were who we're looking for."

Albel slammed his metal hand onto the wooden surface of the table and the huge dark shape jerked up and looked around sleepily. The huge shape had been the man's absurdly large hat with a ruffled feather, and he didn't look any better. His eyes were bloodshot, bags shadowed his eyes, weary lines bracketed his mouth and his skin had a slight grey pallor. Under all the stress, the slumping Count Noppin was barley recognizable.

Nel slipped into the seat opposite the Count while Albel maintained his place beside the table. Noppin's expression was fuzzy, until realization seemed to dawn. "Good evening, Count Noppin," Nel said with false politeness. "How have you been?"

"Made any bombs lately?" Albel growled. Noppin looked up at him with widening eyes. "Wh-what?" he sputtered.

"I asked," Albel slitted his crimson eyes dangerously, "if you made any bombs recently."

Nel watched as the older man squirmed between fear and weariness. Ideas connected in her mind as she remembered the sequence of events from what Albel had said before. "Count Noppin, we are aware that you created a bomb in the shape of a pink stuffed rabbit. What we want to know is why, and how you came across such an idea when we know that you specialize in writing books."

Noppin blinked, frowning now. "A bomb you say? What idiocy is this? I am a writer!"

"Writers do not usually sleep for a whole day in bars, do they?" Albel hissed. Noppin flinched, but glared back. "I do not know what you are talking about. I was merely having a drink with commissioners who were asking about my talents."

"And 'mere drinks' include drinking enough to sleep for a whole day without moving?" Nel wondered aloud, slipping out her dagger to play with it nonchalantly. She caught Noppin's fear in his eyes and responded with a curve of her lip a touch too dark to be called a smile. "Who were they?"

"I said-"

"You can screw what you said, and tell us what we want to hear," Albel snapped. Clearly his temper was rising.

Noppin finally seemed to clue in to the fact that he was dealing with serious people and he straightened and tried to smooth his hair. "Why do you want to know?"

"Because if I don't know this blade will become best friends with your esophagus. They could become more than just 'joined at the hip.'" Albel warned softly.

Noppin cleared his throat, perspiration making his sallow skin gleam. "I-I don't know their personal names. Some people we inventors deal with use aliases, just in case. These boys didn't choose either, strangely, and that's what sticks out. They wanted me to make a bomb. I told them I couldn't of course – I am a writer, not a technician. Yet they kept insisting that I was the only one they would ask, since I am of noble birth as they were, and understood their position. They were losing investments, because you may not know, but many people become rich off of wars, and they had invested heavily into war ammunition and such. But now that peace has been installed, they are out of business. Well, so they asked me for a design of a bomb that they might use for their next line of products, saying that they would use it for clearing tunnels, getting rid of monsters and such."

Nel arched an eyebrow. "Then if this bomb was for construction or monster extermination, then why encase it in a pink stuffed rabbit?"

A frown pursed the noble's lips. "That idea didn't come until a few hours later after I had agreed to try it out. We all had quite a number of rounds… I suppose I agreed to it when I signed the legal contract. Then they must have alerted my team and made the bombs."

"Did they mention any other place where you could meet them if they were interested in another commission?" Nel asked as she watched Albel's face become impassive – not a good sign.

"Well, my memory is quite hazy. Not my fault you understand. But I believe that one of the chaps mentioned the a strange bar in Kirlsa.. I believe they called it the 'Blood Bar'. Not the most elegant name of all, but I hear it is quite infamous," Noppin recounted.

"Anything else?"

"That's it."

Nel sighed and looked at her reflection in her dagger's blade. Her reflection looked grim, and a bit tired, a few strands of red hair sticking out in odd angles thanks to the wind. So _Daddy's Little Rich Boys_ had commissioned Noppin to make a bomb yesterday while he was under the influence of alcohol. They had him sign the contract, then left for his team of inventors and had it made. Then they had traveled to Arias and planted the bomb outside headquarters where Farleen and Tynave had found it.

Something stuck out and Nel realized what it was. "Sorry to ask, but did they pay you?"

Noppin looked up with a strange expression. Then he patted his sides and pockets, then frantically looked around the table (Albel had to move) until he was on all fours and crawling around. "They didn't pay me! But I swear that they had left the bag – oh, those cheap bastards! They had better left it with Alice!"

**Case Closed?**

"…and so that's how I was cursed." Albel finished off.

King Arzei of Airyglyph nodded over his intertwined hands as he sat at the head of the table in the conference room of the castle. "That sounds a bit like Roger and Cliff to me. But what does your curse make you do?"

Albel flinched and Nel suppressed a smile from the chair opposite him. She suspected that he would never fully be able to describe his curse without being prickly at the same time. Which reminded her, how was the antidote coming along…?

Albel cleared his throat, glancing around the large stone room and at the king, Nel and the advisor standing behind the king. "The curse-"

The wooden door of the chamber slammed open, sending a tremor throughout the room as a tall, lithe and beautiful woman stormed in. Nel had an instant's impression of pale skin, slender form, generous curves, luxurious wavy black hair and ice blue eyes before the woman yelled. "**_ALBEL NOX, I WILL POSITIVELY KILL YOU!_**"

Which resulted in:

Albel kissing the shocked spitfire.

The advisor cursing in shock.

The king watching but in a shocked state.

Nel nearly falling out of her chair.

And... was that jealousy rearing its ugly head?

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**v/s:** well, not my best chapter, I'll give you that. Reviews? 


	7. Chapter 7

**Say My Name**

**Written by** vox shade

**v/s:** Hey people! A quick update for you people this time. Be happy, I worked throughout my weekend for you. And a little itty bitty warning for some controversional issues here again. Thanks :3

**Disclaimer:** Star Ocean 3 belongs to Tri-Ace/Ubisoft/Square-Enix.

* * *

**Chapter Seven**

**Sometimes Green Doesn't Suit You.**

Nel groaned inwardly. Why was she groaning? Well, looking around, there really was nothing to groan over. The Airyglyph sky was clear of clouds, the snow had stopped for once, winds had become breezes, leaving the sturdy stone courtyard dusted with snow, pure and clean. Except for the footsteps leading from the doorway from the side of the castle. One leading to where Nel stood, leaning against a stone post overlooking the empty training yard. The other had two sets of footsteps leading to the opposite side of the courtyard where animated chatting came in constant bursts. Nel crossed her arms and shivered at the cold temperature (but it was warmer than before) and glanced inconspicuously at the commotion.

The black haired and blue eyed vixen who went by the name Sienna Skye was chatting animatedly with Albel Nox by the stairs leading down to the yard. She had been practically super glued to Albel's heels since their meeting with the king. _Since that kiss..._

Nel rolled her eyes and made herself look away from the disgusting sight. She didn't really see the skeleton-like trees as she remembered the events of the bizarre day. Their journey from Arias to the royal city, their meeting with Count Noppin, the meeting with Arzei, Sienna barging in and Albel kissing her instead of Nel like every other time except when purposely getting him to kiss someone else...

A distinct flare of anger flared within Nel and she shifted in her boots uncomfortably. She knew what this emotion was. Jealousy. Something she was not accustomed to, but familiar with enough. Who in their lives did not experience this at least once? But this was unreasonable. Why was she, Nel Zelpher, jealous of Sienna?

Despite herself, she looked over again at the talking couple, and cringed when she realized that they looked good together. Albel in all his wicked good looks, and Sienna in her ethereal kind of beauty. She smiled and laughed, tossing back her waves of black hair right then as her blue eyes sparkled, her other hand smoothing her high collared navy blue dress, the exact same colour as Albel's skirt. Neither seemed bothered by the chilly climate as they talked. Nel cursed the taller woman silently as they chatted about something or other – their voices were muffled and the distance a bit too far to make out the words.

Nel brushed the snow off the sleeves of the form fitting trench coat she had brought, knowing Airyglyph's weather. She glowered at the snow falling to the ground softly, remembering what had happened in the audience chamber.

_Nel stood in shock as Albel withdrew his lips from the dark haired woman's sultry lips. "I hate you," he whispered. The words somehow filtered through the fog in Nel's head to register that his tone sounded almost... tender?_

_The girl crossed her arms and pouted prettily. "I should be the one saying that. You have no right, Albel."_

"_You!" The king's advisor spluttered, "you cannot enter this chamber without leave of the-"_

"_Settle down, Lied," the king commanded gently. He surveyed the surprised Albel, his eyes roaming from his strange expression to the woman's gentling eyes as she looked at Albel, to Nel mechanically righting her chair but refusing to sit. He sighed. "This meeting has been ended. I think I know what this curse induces my commander to do without you telling me. Now, I believe that Albel and Sienna need time to catch up. I expect any questions regarding this mission to be brought to my attention before you leave tomorrow. Dinner will be served as of now, so please wash up and meet in the dining hall."_

All throughout the dinner Sienna had talked about anything and everything. How old she was (nineteen), where she came from, all the way to what size her bra was. But one thing Nel had noticed that she had not spoken of was how she and Albel had met. It was kind of strange how a girl from the countryside could become intimate enough with a swordsman of the royal castle to call each other on a first name bases.

After dinner, Nel had left the dining hall to grab her coat and step outside for a breath of fresh air in the dimming evening. Then, ten minutes ago, the two had walked outside. They had looked at her, exchanged decidedly stiff greetings, then had resumed their conversation, leaving Nel to feel like a third wheel, abandoned on the other side.

Sighing, Nel tucked a waving strand behind her ear and decided to reenter the castle. The breath of fresh air she had come out to experience now felt like a chunk of ice somewhere painful in her chest. _I'd better complete that task as well_, she reminded herself, inexplicably glum. Kicking up snow in her path, she ignored the two and headed for the thick wooden door and slipped inside.

**Lost and Found Emotions**

Albel frowned as the wooden door leading into the castle shut with a loud thunk of wood against stone, temporarily puncturing Sienna's chattering. Why did Nel leave? Well, it wasn't as if he'd been talking to her, but she had left with a slightly gloomy look on her face, and strangely it bothered him. Perhaps the Airyglyph cuisine didn't sit well with her stomach, but he doubted that that was the reason. Maybe it was because of him somehow...?

"Hey Albel," Sienna poked Albel in the arm to get his attention.

"What?"

"I've got a question."

"Since when have you _haven't_?"

Sienna scrunched her nose, "well, I just wanna know about that woman. Who is Nel really anyway?"

Albel rolled his eyes, "I've just told you – she's one of the-"

Sienna waved her hand impatiently, cutting him off. "No, I already know that she was one of the people who helped save the universe, and all that. I meant who is she to _you_."

Albel arched an eyebrow calmly as his heart skipped a beat. "To me? What's there to be said? She is just a team member who happens to be my partner in this mission. Nothing more."

Sienna threw him an exasperated look. "Don't give me that crap, Albel. She's much more than that, I know that for sure."

Albel eyed her and shifted uncomfortably under her tight scrutiny. "You know I have no interest in love."

"None?" Sienna quirked a finely arched eyebrow. "What of that Esme Fontaine ditz?"

"Nothin happened, as per usual."

"But with _this_ one, you're different," Sienna insisted.

This interested Albel slightly. He feigned indifference to hide it, however, not wanting to give the shorter woman a weapon. "How so?"

"Well," Sienna started with an obvious relish. "You always notice when she leaves or enters the same room. And sometimes you find excuses to go in the same direction she went in. And I know for a fact that you don't look at her like you do to other woman, like they were some kind of new breed of worms."

_Is that how I act? For the love of-... _Albel let out a breath. "I'm a swordsman, Skye. You're trained to notice details like who's in the same room as you, who leaves and who enters. And if I do go in the same direction as Zelpher, then it is purely coincidence. I don't think she's a new breed of worms like the others because she's proven her worth in battle, even if it is only by a margin."

A sudden, sinister sparkle had lit up in Sienna Skye's eyes and Albel only recalled his mistake an instant too late. A dark smile curved on her pink lips as she let out a giggle. "You've lost, Albel."

Albel straightened and gave her a glare. "I have not."

Sienna danced around him to plant herself in front of him, blocking his way with a laugh. "You have! You know you have! I've _never_ heard you call a woman anything other than varieties of insects or other things which crawl on the ground. And you insist Nel's nothing, but then you go and call her by her surname! Just admit it Albel, you've lost it!"

**Dances in the Dark**

"You have already completed your task?" The king of Airyglyph's tone held a touch of surprise and admiration in his low voice as he regarded the petite red haired young woman in front of his desk.

Nel nodded. "I have. However, you must be careful and not trip over it. It's very sensitive. I have left some space around it so that you may reach your quarters."

Arzei returned the nod. "You have my gratitude, Lady Nel. I was debating whether or not to increase security measures, but it seems you have foreseen it more clearly than I. You will be compensated for your hard work."

"Not at all, sir." Nel crossed her arms. "My duty has called for this, and I am glad to fulfill it."

This prompted a small smile from the king as he set down a piece of paper onto his desk and surveyed Nel with respect. "But you had volunteered to partner with Albel when he required help. For that I thank you."

Nel recognized that the king would not back down from the look in his eyes. And frankly, she didn't really want to correct him any further. She could understand why this man was the king of Airyglyph, both for heart and mind. She gave a small smile and half bowed. "Please excuse me."

The king nodded and Nel turned and left the office, hitching up her bag on her shoulder. She felt better now after accomplishing something after leaving the courtyard. She set out down the hallway lit by torches, thinking about anything else she may have forgotten when a set of footsteps alerted her ears.

_Please, anyone but him_. Nel let out an exasperated growl when _he_ rounded the corner. She _really_ didn't need to see Albel right now. But there he was, rounding the corner and stopping as he met her eyes. A shadow flitted over his face. "What are you doing here?"

Nel stopped and crossed her arms. "Why are _you_ here?"

Albel snorted. "I can't meet with my own king?"

Nel stepped to the side of the darkened corridor and gestured. "Then don't let me stop you."

He cast her a dark look and marched down the hall, but stopped right in front of her to her surprise. But then, he was always full of surprises, wasn't he? Like feigning he was not interested in romance, yet having a local love which he had not told anyone of.

Alright, back to reality.

Albel stopped squarely in front of Nel, and it struck her just how _tall_ the skinny bastard was. With the flickering torch light casting Albel's face into shadows, he exuded danger through every pore as he stared down at her with gleaming crimson eyes through his long bangs. Nel couldn't summon a word. It felt as if her lungs had constricted to half their size, urging her to breathe in faster and shallower breaths. Every hair jumped to attention with her heart as their leader when Albel suddenly hit the stone wall behind her with both hands, on either side of her head. Instinctively, she pressed against the wall as Albel bent down until his eyes were almost level with her own wide ones. His eyes were prodding, penetrating, and she couldn't move for the love of Apris. Even if the biggest tub of double fudge ice cream was dancing behind the guy, she wouldn't have been able to move to get to it even though he wasn't touching her in any way physically. _Only emotionally..._

What a messed up reality.

Finally, he cut the razor thin silence. "I won't repeat myself again, woman. Why. Are. You. Here."

Nel gulped and tried to gather her scattered wits, even as she stared back helplessly. "I came here to complete a favor for your king."

An arch of a brow. "What kind of favor would he need from you?"

A small twinge of anger made itself know in her blank mind. _Why do I have to explain anything to this liar anyway? What right does this bastard have over me to question what I do?_ Nel glared back. "Why do you want to know so much about what I do and whom I meet?"

"Don't make me repeat myself, woman," Albel warned softly.

"And I won't repeat myself either. _Move it. _It's none of your business anyway."

"As much as I hate to say it, we are partners in this mission. And I had the impression that Aquarians value trust in partnerships."

"And since when have you ever invested in trust? Why should I give mine when you clearly do not give me your own?"

"_Why are you here?"_

"_I'm not saying anything, understand? **Out of my way!**_"

Nel's jaws started to ache from gritting her teeth so much, but she refused to budge under the pressure of Albel's eyes. Finally, he withdrew his hands and straightened, his eyes cold and indifferent, mask back in place. Without a word, he turned and walked down the hall, his footsteps echoing, shortly followed by the sound of a door opening and closing.

Silence.

Nel remained leaning against the wall, muscles tense, eyes unseeing. Her anger was empty now, as was her heart. It was only now that she admitted to herself that she had been immature, had let her pride get in the way. Jealousy had played a role too, induced by Sienna's intimacy. Her breathing sounded harsh to her own ears, and blankly she wondered what time it was. It had to be later than nine, because she had spent at least an hour and a half in the king's suite. This reminded her that Albel wouldn't stay in the king's office forever – he'd have to come out soon. Feeling burdened even more than ever, Nel let her feet guide her to the room she had left her equipment in when they had arrived at the castle.

Upon the entry of the room, Nel noticed that someone, probably a maid, had lit the fire in the fireplace bathing the room with warmth and light. She set her bag by the desk and rummaged through her bigger knapsack sitting on the chair and fished out two rolled up pieces of paper tied with a blue and red ribbon respectively. Dully, she remembered that she had to send them out to the Queen and Clair. She had written the reports just before their meeting with the king. Now all she had to do was make her way to the falconry. Airyglyph had no population of pigeons to relay messages to other people, so they had to make due with falcons. This was a bonus because in addition to being able to hunt cooperatively with humans, they were smarter than pigeons and could relay messages faster. With abstract facts in mind, Nel grabbed the papers and left the room quietly.

Twenty minutes later Nel had returned to the hallway the bedroom was in, her head and mind clearer than before. After minutes of arguing with herself with voices sounding suspiciously like Fayt and Sophia, she had reached a conclusion. Even though she had no idea how the argument between her and Albel had started, it was clear that she was responsible for half of the confusion over nothing. She would apologize even though she expected him to turn it away, and ignore her feelings concerning him and Sienna. If they really were together, what right did she have to interrupt what they had? And since when had she like him anyway? She didn't like anything about him, ever since the beginning. At least, not in _that_ kind of way. No sir. And she didn't need romance to distract her from her duty. She really had no time for it, what with all the battles she became involved in and covert operations.

Suspiciously, it sounded like she was trying to convince herself.

_Nahh._ Just wasn't gonna happen.

But if she wanted to apologize, she'd have to find him, wouldn't she? And she didn't know where he was sleeping. Even though she had bumped into so many people who were crowding the halls before. So where was he…?

Nel opened the door to her bedroom and slipped in. Immediately, she recognized Albel's back as he bent over her bed. _Wait, what..?_

"Umm, Albel? What are you doing here?" Nel's heart thundered in her ears. An mixture of emotions swelled up, and she struggled to suppress them. She had never been good with apologies. Or jealousy. Wait, hadn't she already agreed that she wasn't jealous?

He continued to work, grasping two handles at the bottom of the bed and yanking it, pulling out a cot which had been inside the bed much like a drawer. Nel comprehended instantly. _Okay, so I agreed to apologize. I didn't say **anything** about sleeping in the same room!_

The tall Glyphian straightened and turned to face her. His voice was normal again – cold, distant. "During this time of year many nobles return to the capital to gather and enjoy the Season. There is a shortage of rooms in the castle, so we have to sleep in the same room. Don't think I didn't try to change his mind, but the king's stubborn. So even if it isn't your ideal sleeping quarters, you may as well be quiet because we aren't getting anything else."

Nel suppressed the urge to retort, and tamed her anger. Obviously he had not gotten over the argument. She discreetly examined his face and body language as she rummaged through her bag. It seemed as though he wasn't in the mood to listen – her apology might start another argument, because her anger was sure as hell not completely gone. She let out a small sigh as she extracted a small bundle of clothes. "Could you leave the room for a minute then? I have to change."

Albel didn't reply, but he crossed the room without a glance her way and went into the bathroom, closing the door behind him with a sound thud, communicating his mood with clarity.

Nel unrolled the bundle of clothes on the desk and flapped the night gown. She had no intention of wearing it tonight. In fact, she had no intention of sleeping tonight at all. She folded it again and slipped off her arm armour, along with the small pouch tied around her waist and set it inside her bag, along with her sleeping gear. She untied her scarf and draped it on top of the chair and slipped off her gloves as well. Her shoes came next, but her socks stayed on her feet. Done, she tied the bag closed and crossed the room to the bed and cot. She would take the cot tonight, as it suited her purposes. She slipped underneath the covers, yanking them up to her chin and making sure that they covered her socked feet. She checked the top of the covers, making sure that it looked as though she really was in nothing but her pajamas. Finally, she called, "you can come in now."

Albel reentered the room wearing nothing but his skirt. He set his armour, claw, and sword by the fireplace without looking at her. She watched as he picked up a small bucket on the fireplace ledge and dump its contents into the fireplace, smoldering the fire out until only half buried embers were left glowing in the dirt. In the sudden darkness, she heard his footsteps draw near, then the creaking of the bed as he settled his weight onto it.

Time passed without a voice. Nel lay awake, feigning sleep, listening to the steadily deepening rhythm of Albel's breathing. Thoughts swirled around her mind, emotions, recounting of events. She hadn't told the truth earlier. Albel had really started to trust her, like earlier in the day before Esme had come by. That peace, reassurance, trust… an ache formed in her heart as she stared up at the darkness, craving it even though she didn't know _why_ she wanted it so much. Wanted it from Albel.

Albel's breathing had become deep and even. Nel reflected that it was time to go. Quietly, she sat up and slipped out of the warm covers and onto the cooling flagstones of the floor. With the faint light of the dying embers, she slipped on her shoes and equipped her armour and daggers. With her vision adjusted to the dark, she made out the unmoving form of Albel, then the door to her left. She tentatively grasped the handle and pulled it towards her. It wouldn't budge. Gritting her teeth, she pulled harder, and after a moment it gave with a shuddering squeak.

_Piece of…!_ Nel froze, eyes wide as she stared at the bed, just waiting for Albel to get up and demand to know where she was going in the dead of the night. Her heart had decided to move into her throat as she waited, heartbeat thundering in her ears.

Finally, Nel chanced it and opened the door wider, assured that Albel was still asleep from his unchanged breathing. The hallway was dark, unlit by any torch. Nel glanced at Albel again, and felt that she owed _something_ to the still form. Quietly, she whispered, "sorry."

Albel slit open his eyes as the door closed with a soft whine and sat up. Quickly he got off the bed and donned his shoes and buckled on his belt and sword, along with his claw. He had heard her whispered apology, but it only made him wonder about what she was about to do. Was she going to the king...? And if she was, why? He had thought Arzei was interested in Elena...

Nel crept through the dark passages of the castle, keeping to the darkest shadows and as silent and swift as a spy was expected to be. She had rememorized the way to the king's suite and she silently glided up a staircase and took a right at the landing. Thirty paces and she had arrived at the king's door. It was unguarded, as he had said it would be. Quietly, she slipped the key she was given into the keyhole and turned it, hearing the click of the lock. Strangely, the mission impossible song was playing in her mind. Nel slipped it back into her pocket and stepped into the entrance room of the suite. There was little light here, provided by a candle sitting on the table by a mirror hanging on the wall. She glimpsed her darkened silhouette in it before passing it by, closing the door softly behind her.

Quickly Nel wove her way to the room she had been in before earlier that day. The door was open, and small sounds of a struggle and a whispered voice was emitting from the room.

"Zelpher."

Nel's heart almost exploded as she whirled around, hands at her daggers. A tall silhouette of a man stood a few feet away from her. Quickly she whispered a spell and a flame appeared at her fingertips, illuminating a small portion of the corridor. She raised it and the light revealed the man to be Albel, only with shoes, his sword, and claw and wearing a tense expression. Her heart settled down marginally.

"Albel, why are you here? You're-"

"Who's in there?"

"I don't know. I set a trap here today just in case anyone was after the king."

Albel's face became set in a grim look. He whispered a spell and an identical flame flared to life at his claws. He gave a smirk at the astonished look on Nel's face. "Then let's go."

Nel thrust the door open and vaulted in, Albel close at her heels. A dagger flashed in the firelight in Nel's hand, flame in the other as she located the source of the noise: at the floor underneath the window, the only weakness of the room other than the door. Usually the king's suite was guarded by a patrol of knights every night, and at least one guard in the day. But since she had asked the king if she could survey his suite and locate any weaknesses, he had agreed and she had fortified the weakest entryways. This window being the weakest, since there was a ledge outside of the window that was easily reachable via the roof.

Nel darted to the window and yanked a rope from the trap which caused the intruder to yelp and twist futilely. The light cast the intruder into the light. Their legs were tied to the window ledge, which meant that their upper body was tangled and pinned down to the floor. They were wearing black clothes, and a scarf to cover their face. Nel bent down and speared the end of the scarf and pulled it away from their face and stopped as she realized who's eyes she was staring back into.

It was Sienna Skye.

_Wait. Wait, wait. Wait wait wait waitwaitwaitwait WHAT THE HELL? _Nel couldn't get over her surprise. She just stood there dumbly, unmoving. This was weird. Why was one of Albel's companions trying to infiltrate the king's suite? Was she involved with the conspiracy group? Does this mean that they had a network of information already in the castle...?

"Step aside." Albel crossed the room and withdrew his sword. With a vicious slash, he ripped through Nel's trap and sent Sienna sprawling on the floor with a yelp.

The fall caused the hem of her shirt to fly up, revealing an expanse of pale flesh over lithe muscles. _Masculine_ muscles. And no sign of any feminine characteristics.

Insert Twilight Zone music here.

Nel's jaw dropped. The she was a he! Was Roger right – Albel was in love with a drag queen?

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**v/s:** whooo... getting stranger by the minute, hm? All will be explained in due time... evil chuckle 


	8. Chapter 8

**Say My Name**

**Written by** vox shade

**v/s:** eh, no warnings really. But thanks for the uber reviews XD the best part after posting a chappie is getting them!

**Disclaimer:** Star Ocean 3 belongs to Tri-Ace/Ubisoft/Square-Enix.

* * *

**Chapter Eight**

"_Albel, you're in love with a drag queen?" Nel gasped out. Albel whirled around, eyes wide and flashing._

"_You speak one word of this to anyone, wench, and I will kill you."_

Nel blinked and the strange second-long daydream vanished from her mind. She was back in reality, where women were really men and dated other men like Albel Nox. The daydream didn't seem any better at the moment. _I think I'd like to go home now._

"Albel? Lady Nel? I-" Sienna Skye's words were cut off with a clean sweep of Albel's sword as it sliced through several more ropes of Nel's clever trap, reducing it to shreds of tough string. S/he winced and scrambled up from the floor to stand, tugging on her/his hem with trembling fingers. Her/his eyes widened in the dim light as the situation dawned.

Albel didn't say a word as he raised the tip of his sword to point at Sienna's throat. "You will give me an explanation which will make sense to my ears, Skye. Now."

Sienna raised his/her hands meekly with a slight smile. "Uh, can we go somewhere else to talk? I don't want to wake his Majesty up."

"No. You can start talking."

Nel voiced up her opinion since her shock. "Really, Nox. Sienna has a point. Let's take uh, him, to our room and we can solve things from there. Obviously he's only being used by the conspiracy group."

Sienna shot Nel a surprised look. "How'd you know?"

"It's obvious. You can't kill Albel, one of the king's trusted men, let alone kill the king himself." Nel passed by Sienna and Albel towards the door, leading the way with a flame floating in her palm. She sternly reigned in her questions and confusion to be answered later. Right now came the priority of keeping this incident in as low a profile as possible. If word ever got out that a relation of the Black Brigade's Captain tried to assassinate the king, trust in the castle would lower and suspicion would be thick. There was no sense in lowering the morale of the people and casting doubt where it didn't need to be cast.

The trip back to their shared rooms was quiet and thankfully uneventful. Whenever Nel had peered back she would see a doubtful look cast over Sienna's face. But then, weren't all three of them in doubt at the moment? Like, if Albel was really gay?

Albel shut the door with a sound thud and Nel walked over to the fireplace, placed some logs in from the side of the hearth, and lit it with the flame in her palm. Albel sheathed his sword and stood in front of the door, leaning against it with his arms crossed and face expressionless. Nel chose the bed which was close to the window, hands close to her dagger hilts. Sienna stationed herself on the chair by the desk.

Albel glared from under his blonde tips. "Start."

Sienna took a deep breath. "It was all Woltar's idea."

Whatever it was Nel had expected, it wasn't this. "What?"

Sienna turned his clear blue eyes to her seriously. "I'm sure you know him, Lady Nel. Woltar had discovered this conspiracy group a little while ago, and it was he who alerted the king of the group and the dangers. But since they were so rich and politically powerful, we could not confront them in court with such little evidence – they are very efficient. So before Albel was assigned to the mission, I was the person they chose for undercover work. Since I was already dressing like a woman for two years, they knew little to no people out of the castle knew who I really was, so they thought that I was the one who was most likely compatible with the plan."

"All this because Woltar asked you?" Albel snorted.

Sienna leveled a glare at him. "It was for my uncle, Albel. I couldn't refuse him."

"And the king doesn't know anything of this?" Nel asked in surprise. "I would have thought that someone would have told him everything there was to know about this mission and the background information."

"Well, you see," Sienna played with the end of his ponytail. "The news would have alarmed the king, and he would have more than likely told me to stop with the undercover mission."

"Why? Aren't you Woltar's soldier or agent?"

"I'm one of the king's distant nephews."

"Oh. Waitaminute, _what_?"

It seemed as though she'd been getting floored a lot lately. She should stop it before it became a habit.

Sienna smiled at Nel. "It's not widely publicized. If it were known that I was a relative to the king, and a potential heir, my life would be risked wouldn't it? So Albel suggested that I become a girl and go under the name of 'Sienna Skye' to reduce the number of threats to my life."

"So what's your real name?"

"Kaize Skye."

Nel thought about the new facts and linked them together in her mind. It made sense. Woltar must have sent Kaize (pronounced kai-zeh) in order to help Albel out but kept it a secret from the king because Kaize protested it since he knew the king would force him to give it up. "But then how did you become so close to each other?"

Kaize shrugged. "We used to go skirt shopping together."

This considerably lightened the tension in the room as Nel laughed herself to tears, Sienna joining in on the amusement as Albel fumed silently by the door. Nel gasped for breath as she straightened up again, wiping a tear from her eye. She decided to spare Albel any teasing since he looked so venomous at the moment as he glared at both of them. _Perhaps Kaize isn't so bad. At least I know now that there isn't anything between them._

"So were you ever going to tell the king?" Nel asked when she finally had full control over her voice.

"Nah, we were gonna tell him later after this whole thing was over. I don't really want to tell him anyway, cuz he might just send me back to the country with my parents. As much as I love them, I like being in the royal city. It's more interesting. But now that you caught me, he might know earlier… unless you don't tell him?" Kaize asked hopefully.

Nel looked at Albel. "Well, you can count on me not to tell the king. It really isn't much of my business anyway."

"So why were you sneaking in here?" Albel interrupted.

Kaize frowned. "Well, since I was undercover, they made me a part of their group. As a minor. But they were pulling off the plan today to assassinate the king."

"And you were the only they sent?" Albel asked. Nel could hear the slight apprehension underlying his tone. She was beginning to feel it too, and she stood up abruptly.

Kaize stood up as well, eyes wide. "No. There should be three more!"

Albel cursed under his breath as he snapped the door open and flew into the hallway, Nel in hot pursuit. They dashed through the darkness, and reached the king's suite just as a man clad in black stepped out from the room Kaize had snuck into. He was down with a flash of Albel's Crimson Scourge. Both leapt over the body and into the stone chamber as two more men climbed in from the window, blades at the ready. "Bodyguards!" one of them shouted as an alarm.

Nel locked blades with one man, while Albel fought with the other. "So, just how much are you being paid to do this?" Nel said with a smile as she and the man glared at each other over the tops of the their daggers. He looked to be an Airyglyphian, in his thirties, tall, and with the advantage of weight on his side.

"Nothing you need to know, wench!" the man growled. Nel parried away from the extra pressure and lunged in again, dancing in and out of the swipes from his blades. Sure he was bigger, but she was faster. _The bigger they are, the harder they fall._

"Well, I'm just curious. I'm sure it's not enough in exchange for your life!" Nel said with a savage smile. She blocked a furious thrust and flipped back in the room and threw a bolt of lightning at the assailer. To his credit he managed to jump out of the way just in time. But in the instant that the lightning illuminated the room, she spotted a dark figure slipping over the window sill. The light vanished and Nel sought the figure in the darkness. A blow to her shoulder reminded her of her fight. Cursing herself for being distracted, she ignored the pain and dodged to the right just as a sword thrust to where her heart would have been if she'd stayed still. Twirling on her toes, she knew that her opponent was still recovering from his attack. Two flashes of steel, and the man was down.

Nel whirled around to see Albel finishing off the other man wielding an axe. Quickly she scanned the room just as she heard the door behind her open. With a shout for Albel, Nel followed in hot pursuit as the third infiltrator dashed into the corridor. She knew where he was going: the king's personal chambers.

She heard a shout behind her and spared a glance. Albel was keeping a good distance, maybe a meter or so behind. Yet she could vaguely see an outline of someone else behind him, following the two. She'd leave the mystery person to Albel, right now she had an idiot to catch.

A crash alerted her up ahead the dark hall of something falling in her path. Nel leapt smoothly over the shards of a vase and skidded around a corner, seeing her target ramming through the king's door in the torchlight. _Not if I can help it_. Nel gritted her teeth and picked up her speed, dashing through the door and catching up with the assailant in the middle of the room. She threw her smaller dagger and it hit home in the back of the man's right shoulder. He cried out, which alerted the king to waking up with a fight in his face in the dim light of his room (poor guy, I'd hate to be woken up like that).

Nel leapt forward and crushed her heel into the man's injured shoulder for a good moment before twisting the dagger's handle and jerking it out. The man twitched and stilled under her feet, and Nel stepped back with satisfaction. "Sorry to interrupt your sleep, sir," Nel said politely to the king. "But –"

Her words were cut short as

Albel lurched through the door with Kaize hanging off his shoulders.

The man who was supposed to have passed out jumped to his feet.

The king grabbed a random dragon bone off the floor and started swinging it around.

Okay, so he wasn't swinging it around. But although it was hitting the intruder, Nel had to do some fancy dodging to get out of the way as well.

"You son of a –"

"Uncle-"

Nel cut off both men as she grabbed Albel around the torso and threw him out the door. "_There isn't enough room in here! Stay out there where you aren't in someone's way, Albel Nox!"_

Nel turned back to the situation at hand and leapt in to deliver a blow to the yelling man's forearm. She danced back out of reach of his blade. She lunged for the same arm wielding his sword and even though it was dark , she located the tendon and jammed her thumb into it. With a scream of pain, the man's hand unclenched and the sword plunged down into the tip of his shoe just as the king rammed the done into the man's midriff.

And did I mention that Nel was shouting Albel's name the whole while?

Nel breathed heavily as she regarded her and the king's work, certain that this time the man wouldn't rise again. All that shouting and fighting had tired her, but she felt satisfied, the adrenaline still thrumming in her veins. But there was one thing –

The door bashed open and ricocheted off the wall as Albel stormed in, wiping his mouth and eyes glowing blood red, riveted on the exhilarated heroine.

"_You suicidal fool –_"

"Not here, Albel." King Arzei interrupted. His own eyes were fixed on the younger man behind Albel. "You can conference in your rooms. I wish to speak to my nephew."

**Getting in Touch With the Other Side.**

Ten am saw to that the sullen swordsman and the disgruntled Crimson Blade made their way to Arias. Nel had received a reply from Clair at dawn, the message clipped and straight to the point: come to Arias. Now. Before I burn down the ice cream factories.

..Well, maybe not the chocolate one, but the strawberry one definitely.

So thus, Nel had dragged Albel out of his room, unafraid even after their small argument last night.

Nel looked around the roads, nodding to those who waved to her. Arias didn't seem to have changed. It was a bit strange, because it felt as if she'd been gone a long time. _A lot has happened_, Nel reflected soberly. Especially the jealousy part. That still irritated her slightly. But then, since when did she have the right to demand knowledge from Albel the Wicked?

"Zelpher."

Nel looked at Albel, who was keeping stride with her. He still looked a bit angry from being forced to kiss the king's nephew, and for more than a minute as well nonstop. He'd kept complaining that she had nearly killed him with suffocation last night.

"What?"

"Next time you want me to leave a room, just _ask_ and I might leave, alright fool?"

"So now you care about what I think, contrary to what you said earlier."

"Hmph. You did nearly suffocate me. A mediocre attempt at best, but the intent was there."

"Ha. Since when have you cared?"

"When did I say I haven't, fool?"

Nel eyed him strangely before entering the mansion, Albel behind her. A thump on the staircase introduced Clair as she smiled and greeted them.

"Welcome back Nel, Lord Albel. I trust you have finished your business up at the castle?"

Before Nel and Albel could even indicate anything, Clair grabbed their wrists and started dragging them upstairs. "Now, don't worry about your luggage or settling in, cuz you're going right back out there right after we clear something up. As it so happens, after we received your letter we got a message from a lord of Airyglyph, offering information of the group you two are pursuing." Clair kept talking as she dragged the two tired and stupefied travelers to the second floor and down the hall and into the farthest room on the right. "And he mentioned an interesting and not to mention _the easiest_ way to get into personal contact with the group without them knowing. Of course I agreed to help with all of my ability. Which leads to this."

Clair had sat them both down in the middle of the clean room on two wooden chairs seeming to be there exactly for this moment. While Nel and Albel were both trying to digest what the grey haired woman had just said, said Clair rummaged in the closet and pulled out two identical black boxes. Both were big enough to require both hands and some effort to hold, and both had the same pink dripping heart insignia emblazoned onto the thin wood. Clair set both of them on the table in front of Albel and Nel and smiled.

"How –"

"Yes, you're wondering how you're going to be doing this, Lady Nel. Allow me to show you."

With that, Clair lifted the top off one of the boxes and held up the main content.

"Dear Apris _no_."

Clair was holding up none other than a lascivious French maid outfit. Complete with black gloves, ribbons, shoes. And _holy_ – that skirt was _short_.

Albel snickered. "It suits you, Zelpher. I think it covers more than your sleepwear, at the least."

Clair lifted an eyebrow at the swordsman at the comment. "Oh, Nel isn't the only one wearing this. It turns out the Blood Bar that the group inhabits only hires certain people, Albel. They hire _women_."

It took a moment for it to click, but when it did it whammed into him like a lot of dragon dung. "**_NO!_**"

"I've already sent your resumes in."

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**v/s: **good? Bad? Point anything out that needs fixing or anything please. That means reviews! (nudge nudge XD) 


	9. Chapter 9

**Say My Name**

**Written by** vox shade

**v/s:** Okay, just to clear some stuffs up: in the last chapter, there really were four assassins, but Kaize only knew of three cuz the other one went along as reinsurance or something, ookay? And two: Albel has two normal and healthy arms in this fic, because it makes my job easier and I like him that way :P Alright, that's it. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** Star Ocean 3 belongs to Tri-Ace/Ubisoft/Square-Enix.

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**Chapter Nine**

**Maria Sends Her Love**

Clair smiled sweetly as Albel vented his anger in a series of vulgar rants, storming around the room and randomly slashing at a curtain or table with his claws. Contrary to his behaviour, Nel was sitting quietly in her chair, eyeing the uniform. Her left eye looked like it was twitching. But otherwise, there was no sign indicating that she was in an uproar.

Albel returned back to the table, breathing hard and glaring murderously. "I'm not going."

Nel shook her head resignedly. "If what Clair said is true, Nox, then we have no other choice. Infiltration is a basic tactic for spy work, and it's highly effective if completed properly. It's how we used to get information from your country, and you from ours. No one knew the other knew anything about them until they started to act as if they did know and set up counter attacks. It's our best shot."

"Not like this. I **_refuse_**." Albel bared his teeth as he stared at the contents of each open box. The uniforms were identical. It looked like something that the worm Esme Fontaine would wear. He felt a shiver of repulsion shudder down his spine. "If you like it so much, then _you_ wear it and keep me out of this."

Nel shot Albel a haughty look. "Fine. But you won't see me crying about it, Nox." The fiery red head rose and grabbed a box and entered the closet and shut the door soundly.

Clair turned to Albel, the same smile still on her face. "Will you be preparing too?"

"Like hell," Albel scoffed. "This is an idiotic plan. I refuse to take part of such low thinking."

Clair shook her head. "We sent in both of your resumes, and they've accepted. Your interviews are at eight tonight, and they expect you to wear your uniforms. It looks like you've got the job, even if they are treating it like a serious job application."

Albel set his jaw in a stubborn frown. "I'm not doing this."

Clair's smile widened, and suddenly there was a sinister twinkle in her eyes. "You might want to look at this before you decide fully." She retrieved an envelope from on top of the dresser located in the corner (which had somehow escaped Albel's claws) and laid it on the table where the box Nel had taken used to be. Albel sized it up, noticing its thickness and unusually large size. A thread of unease tightened around his chest. There was something not right about this...

A muffled call came though the closet door. "I'll leave this to you to decide, Albel," Clair said with a smile as she turned and made her way into the closet.

Albel ignored the small sounds which filtered through the wooden door and concentrated on the envelope. Wait, why was he afraid in the first place? It was just an envelope! It would be one cold day in the Ursaa Lava Caves if Albel the Wicked shied away from opening a single cursed envelope.

Quickly and efficiently, Albel ripped open the paper with his claws and unearthed the contents from under scraps of the envelope. Hm. One folded up piece of thick paper. What could...?

Albel's jaw dropped as his eyes met the blown up photograph. It was a picture of when he had kissed Cliff. All glossed up, with a fade out white framing, hearts that faded into the background, labels and arrows clearly indicating who was who. But how..?

Maria. That _scum_. She'd given out this –

Without a second thought, Albel tore the photo into the tiniest shreds he could manage until the photo became confetti.

The closet door opened again and Clair stepped out, smiling even as she saw the confetti floating down the carpet. "I have more than a hundred copies, Albel. As you can guess, Maria sent them to me, as insurance for your cooperation should the need ever arise. I have them situated all over the continent, from Acquios to Airyglyph. On my command, my subordinates will not hesitate to post them up where the public will see them. I suggest you agree, Albel."

With every word the woman had spoken, Albel's horror rose until it became flat out disbelief. There was just _no way_, not even if it was Vox speaking to him. _These maggots will **die**_.

Nel stepped around Clair and put a fist on her hip and frowned at the swordsman. "You've lost, Albel. You either wear this, or there will be nasty rumours floating around."

Albel snarled, "I will _not_ wear that-"

Whoa. Back up.

Albel was riveted to the spot. His tongue was literally struck dumb, and that never happened to Albel Nox. Then again, he'd never seen Nel wear such a sexy outfit, including her excuse for pajamas. There were bound to be a few surprises, combining the two.

The low cut black corset hugged Nel's torso like a second skin, defining her slender waist, accentuating her breasts, held together by crisscrossing ribbons at the front. A low cut short sleeved white shirt went underneath the corset, the material translucent and thin, the ends decorated with lace. The gloves on her hands were black, and embroidered with black threads in spider-like designs. The bottom of the gloves flared out in white cuffs, also with lace. The skirt Nel wore was a volumous black skirt over layers of thin and almost transparent white petticoats, all no longer than mid thigh. Black garters were next, beckoning the eye down slender legs to where the skin disappeared under white stockings starting at the knee. Black stiletto boots encased small feet, black ribbons winding around her legs to reach up to her garters, where they were bound.

Needless to say, Albel Nox was impressed. And that belt collar which hung around her slender neck only made it worse. Nel Zelpher had never looked more appealing. _And why am I noticing this **now...**?_

Clair turned to Nel with a slight laugh. "He likes it."

Nel smirked, tucking her hair behind the French maid hat band. "Good. Cuz he's gonna have to wear it."

**Following in Kaize's Footsteps?**

Nel and Albel entered Kirlsa at two at an agonizingly slow pace. Both wore hooded cloaks, hoods drawn over their heads to help shield their identities. Nel led the way down a street as Albel followed half a step behind, most probably checking the area out in case of anyone recognizing who they were.

Nel almost snorted in amusement. It was no wonder Albel was being paranoid. After a vigorous argument, Albel had been forced to give up when Clair had pointed out the window to the house opposite the mansion. At the house's window stood one of the runologists Clair commanded, stuffing her fist into her mouth as she held up a copy of the poster Albel had shredded, choking her laughter back all the while.

And so Albel had donned the French maid uniform, with no shortage of curses, threats, and complaints. Clair had ran off with Albel's claw and sword while Nel was distracting him by tying his corset a tad tighter than comfortable. They'd thought it best, for public safety.

So now Albel was clawless, swordless, and available. Nel had to choke back a laugh at that thought. But even though Albel was in the uniform, he was still masculine. His angular face, attitude, and voice screamed _I AM A MAN IN WOMAN ATTIRE_. Not to mention that he didn't have female characteristics, and he'd refused to let them wax his legs. Not that he'd really needed it, his hair was surprisingly thin and invisible. His feet had barely fit into the stiletto boots, even though they were his size but since Clair could not say that he went by men's sizes, she had listed the number down in women's.

Clawless, swordless, available, and tottering around on seven inch heels.

How the mighty have fallen.

If she weren't so afraid of breaking both her ankles in her own shoes, she would have collapsed in a helpless heap of laughter.

A clattering of hooves against cobblestone drew Nel's attention to the tall man riding a coal black stallion down the street towards them. Nel started to get out of the way when she noticed that the man was slowing his horse from a trot to a walk until he drew up in front of the two.

The man dismounted with the fluid ease of an assassin. When he straightened, Nel realized that he was a lot taller than he looked. He could have easily been mistaken to be seven feet tall, but in actuality he was no taller than Cliff Fittir. His hair was glossy black, and fell into his eyes much like Albel's hair did. But his bangs at the sides were longer, and the back of his hair was tied back in a loose ponytail to end just above mid-back. His skin was slightly tanned, face angular with arched black brows hooded over surreal silver eyes. His build was lean, yet slightly more built than Albel's own figure, and fashionably clad in black with chain mail strands hanging from his belt, an unusual shoulder armour latched on his left shoulder.

He was definitely unordinary. Something was out of place, and it was itching at her mind at what it was.

The man smiled, revealing rather pointy, sharp white teeth. "New threads too tight for you, Albel?"

Nel could see Albel's scowl from the opening in his hood as he snarled back. "You fucking _filth_, you're the one who induced this wretched idea weren't you."

The man only smirked back as he sidestepped a punch from the folds of Albel's cloak. He swore as he had to grab onto the horse's saddle to steady himself on the toothpick-thin heels.

Nel lifted an eyebrow. The two seemed to know each other well. And both seemed so similar to the other. It made her wonder if Albel really did have more family than he let on. "And who are you?"

The darker man turned his silver gaze on Nel and gave a mock bow. "Since this insolent pup refuses to introduce us, it seems we are left on our own. My name is Lord Sin, of the Sinclair estates. And you, are Nel Zelpher, Crimson Blade and unfortunate partner of this klutz."

Nel cracked a grin. At least this man had a sense of humour. "And you're the one who proposed this undercover idea?"

Sin shook his head with a smile as both ignored Albel glaring. "That was the work of my siblings. Speaking of which, they are waiting at home. Would you like to ride my horse? The journey is short, but the terrain is a bit rough."

"_You-_"

"Thank you, but I'm fine," Nel said, cutting off Albel's sudden outburst.

And so the two followed the mysterious horseman out of the southeast exit. They walked in silence, the horseman riding his horse a little ways ahead of them, out of earshot. Nel glanced at Albel. "Albel."

"What?" Came the grunted reply.

"Who is Sin? I've never heard of him before."

"You wouldn't have," Albel snorted. "His family only became nobility a few months ago. They contributed a lot of wealth to rebuild parts of Airyglyph which was severely damaged in the war. I only got to know the bastard because the king held conferences with him, and my presence was mandatory. I know as much about him as you do."

Nel frowned, puzzled. "You're telling me that anyone with enough money can become a noble in Airyglyph?"

Albel shook his head, carefully stepping over a piece of timber as they climbed a hill of Granah Hills. "No. I think they proved that they had blue blood in some sort of family tree or another. I wasn't paying too much attention."

Nel rolled her eyes skyward. "Typical."

"What'd you – **_shit_**!"

The next few minutes were spent healing the clumsy warrior who'd tripped over a passing iguana.

**Mirror, Mirror…**

The group had turned south from Granah Hills before the trail leading to the Kirlsa training facility. To Nel, this was unknown territory. When she'd been traveling with Fayt, they'd never gone anywhere in this area but to the training facility, and that had been out of necessity. They'd been walking for nearly half an hour, the trip delayed because of the slow pace Nel and Albel were forced to take. If they hadn't been wearing the suicidal boots, she knew that they would have reached their destination a lot faster.

But now, all three of them were standing in the entrance hall of Sin's mansion home. And Albel hadn't been joking (that would have been a shock in itself) when he'd said that they were wealthy – their mansion was huge. It put Clair's place to shame. In fact, Nel knew that the hall they were standing in could fit two of Clair's mansions side by side. Lengthwise, it would probably fit seven.

_Whuh_.

"Get off of me, _worm_. Keep your hands where they're _wanted_."

Nel glanced over as Albel shrugged off a maid rudely. The maid bowed obediently, then looked up at Nel, seemingly unperturbed by the less-than-gracious attitude. Nel shook her head. "Thank you, but I prefer to keep this on."

Sin nodded. "Then follow me." The older man led the way up the hall, passing a few smiling maids as they cleaned the furniture. They reached a huge, ornately carved door which he opened and walked into. With no other choice, Nel and Albel followed, into another gorgeously furnished and spacious room. Sophia would have loved to see _this_ place. Even if it wasn't entirely pink, it still spoke volumes about sophisticated style.

"Excuse me miss-"

Startled, Nel's instincts kicked in as she whirled around to face the offender. But due to her fast movements on awkward seven inch heels, she lost her balance, pitching backwards with a startled gasp. Before she could remember how to recover from a fall and get her body in action, her fall was halted by a strong grip around her torso.

_Albel?_

Nel opened her eyes and looked up into an unfamiliar face. His face reminded Nel of Fayt's face, the way it was open and honestly kind. She could tell that they didn't look alike, yet that feeling was there. His nose was a bit thinner, his lips a bit fuller, yet he was still cutely attractive. Short chestnut locks were tousled around his face, his skin a lighter shade than Sin's, yet darker than Nel's own. But his eyes were what captured her attention the most. They weren't any ordinary colour – they were the gold of dragon eyes.

"Worm! Why're you so close to her!"

"Are you okay, miss?" he asked, steadying Nel on her feet as she recovered from her near fall.

Nel stepped back to create some distance as he smiled gently. "Yes. Thank you." She noted his clothes to be of Airygplyphian finery as well.

The gold eyed teen turned his eyes on the glaring ex-swordsman. "I apologize – I wasn't aware that you two were that way."

"That's r-"

"You're back so soon."

Attention was diverted to another stranger who stepped into the room from another entrance. Immediately, Nel knew that this woman was definitely like the other two – ethereal and definitely otherworldly. Her hair was the white of newly fallen snow, long and straight and tied up in a high ponytail, her skin pale and fine. Her most startling feature were her large clear amethyst eyes, framed with thick black lashes. She was shorter than the other two, slightly taller than Nel herself as she drew closer, dressed in Acqious style finery.

"Of course," Sin replied with a grin. He turned to Nel and Albel. "These are my siblings. The nineteen year old girl is Seraph, my sister. The seventeen year old boy is Soul, my brother. I myself am twenty three."

"We're younger than you expected, I see." Soul commented with a smile as he observed Nel and Albel's faces.

"Yes," Nel agreed. She glanced at each of them, sensing that otherworldly feeling emanating from all of them. Just who were these people...?

"We don't have too much time," Seraph commented. Nel looked at the grandfather clock. The gold hands indicated that it was forty three minutes past two. "Both of you may join us for lunch, then we have to get to work."

"What kind of work?" Albel asked suspiciously.

Soul only smiled serenely. "Please, you must be hungry after your journey. The salon is this way."

After a fabulous lunch, Seraph requested Albel to help her carry a large and heavy vase out of the sitting room while Sin had disappeared and Soul led Nel to the south of the building.

"You're going to be going undercover, right Lady Nel?"

"Yes. It _was_ your idea."

"Of course. Which means that you have to be inconspicuous, and your hair is anything but that. You'll be recognized immediately, so I'm going to dye it black for you. Temporarily, of course."

Nel glanced at him in surprise as she sat down in a chair by a huge sink. "You have done this before?"

"You could say that," he answered, rummaging around in a cupboard.

An angry shout reached her ears from the door leading into the corridor. Soul smiled as he returned to Nel, popping open a black bottle. "Don't worry, Lady Nel. That would be Seraph pulling the cloak from Lord Albel while he was holding the vase. It means that she's begun."

"Begun what?" Nel asked uneasily as she wet her hair in the sink.

But Soul only smiled and murmured something about 'using the mallet'. Nel decided not to ask; she didn't need to know anymore than she needed to know about this strange trio of siblings.

Two hours and two bottles of black hair dye later, Nel emerged from the bathroom with silky ebony hair. Soul disappeared as Seraph led her to another room and started to apply make up to her face, which took up an additional hour as Searph experimented with colours and hair designs. Then Seraph disappeared to be replaced by Sin holding a few files. By the time Nel had finished reading them, it was around seven in the evening.

"How much longer will this take?" Nel asked Sin from the love seat. Over the time she'd been here, she had grown to place a bit of her trust in the trio, because it was obvious that they knew what they were doing when they'd explained the plan to her, and from the way they had prepared everything beforehand. Including Albel's fate.

Sin looked up at the grandfather clock from by the large window. "I'd say, twenty seven seconds."

Nel arched an eyebrow as she looked at the second hand. Twenty seconds down... four seconds down... 3, 2, 1...

"Finished," Seraph announced happily as she entered the room, rolling down her sleeves. Nel raised both her eyebrows in surprise, as Sin smiled smugly.

Soul entered shortly after, wiping his brow. "He's a difficult case, but I think we made a decent work out of him."

"_**DECENT WORK?"**_

The door burst open and hit the wall with a bang as a tall woman leapt in, teeth bared and fists at the ready as Sin, Seraph and Soul casually looked at her.

Nel, however, couldn't take it as calmly as they could. Her jaw unhinged as her eyes widened in shock. While _she_ had only received a change of hair colour, it looked like Albel had gotten a whole makeover. Including plastic surgery. What else could she call his sudden cleavage?

And not only that, but his _face..._ Seraph truly showed Nel the power of makeup. She had not only did the standard mascara, eyeliner, foundation, slight blush, and pink lipstick, but she'd somehow gotten his face to become softer, more womanly.

As Albel swung back his fist, she glimpsed long, hot pink fingernails. She was willing to bet that his toenails were the same colour. And dangling on his ears were silver hoops.

And his _hair..._ Nel knew it was probably Soul's handiwork, because it was now a soft pink in sharp contrast to his black hair. His black hair had been pulled back except for his bangs into a bun, and tied with a few braids of his pink hair (all of the pink hair was braided in thin braids). A glistening white hair ornament shaped like a chopstick was inserted in his bun, and at one end dangled a pink crystal ball from a chain. On top of the handiwork was his French maid hat.

She would never think the same of him again. She doubted that he would ever be scary to her like he was when she'd first met him.

The amusement was too great; Nel burst out laughing, even as she tried to keep it in by clamping a hand over her mouth, but that only served to make breathing more difficult. She could actually feel tears of laughter welling up in her eyes, even as Seraph shouted not to cry because it would ruin her makeup.

By the time her laughter had stopped convulsing her sides, Albel had planted himself firmly in front of her, crossing his arms and scowling down with the best murderous look he could muster in that getup.

Seraph popped up around Albel, remarkably unscathed. "What do you think, Lady Nel?"

Nel smiled at the girl who was the same age as she. "It fits his new character. You did an exceptional job."

"You're not going to ask how they did it?" Sin asked.

Nel shook her head. "Please, I'd rather not know. Oftentimes, you destroy the magic by telling how it is created."

"What new character?" Albel hissed.

Nel held up one of the papers she had left at her side on the love seat. Albel snatched it from her and read it, manicured claws holding the paper carefully. She watched his eyes move as he read line after line.

"X-**_Candy! My new name is X-Candy?_**"

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**v/s:** better than you expected? Let me know! XD 


	10. Chapter 10

**Say My Name**

**Written by** vox shade

**v/s: **heh, it's been a while, ne? Sorry guys! 'x' I had things to do, my life to live, etc etc. BUT HERE IT IS! Chapter ten is up! XD Read for your pleasure and laughter

**Disclaimer:** Star Ocean 3 belongs to Tri-Ace/Ubisoft/Square-Enix.

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**Chapter Ten**

**Ladies First**

The Blood Bar. That's where the group was now, standing in front of the underground bar on a back street of Kirlsa. Not many people were out yet on this street, since it was only ten minutes to 8 in the evening. The drunks weren't scheduled to come out yet for another couple of hours.

"It doesn't seem to crowded," Nel commented a she held herself straight by holding onto Soul's arm.

"It'll get busier," Sin assured her from behind, supporting Albel and Seraph. The three siblings wore volumous cloaks over their clothes, keeping them warm from the slight chill in the air. Albel and Nel were given shawls, to go with their uniforms.

"Let's go in, we don't want to be late," Soul suggested.

"Speak for yourself." Albel muttered darkly, glaring at the wooden sign.

Sin smiled and stepped forward, forcing Albel to totter quickly to regain his balance, contrasting sharply against Seraph's grace. But then, she wasn't wearing the seven inch heels. "Ladies first," Sin said, letting go of their hands while he opened the door for them. Albel scowled at him and stomped through with loud clicks like a horse as Nel smothered a laugh and followed behind Seraph.

The interior of the bar was lavish and luxurious even at a glance. The tables were covered with good quality tablecloths, the chairs had velvety cushions on the seats, the floor was clean and waxed, the walls decorated with expensive painting and other items of wealth. There were a fair number of people already inside, either sitting in the chairs socializing with one another, or dancing on the dance floor, or sitting at the bar. The group headed towards it, Sin in the lead.

"Excuse me, but would you know where to find Lockroi?" Sin asked pleasantly to the bartender. The man grunted in response and jerked the glass he was cleaning to the far end of the room, where another door was situated in the wall. "Thank you."

Albel rolled his eyes and hurried to keep up as they wove through the tables and chairs. Looking to the side, there seemed to be actors and actresses scuttling around on the stage. Their costumes were peculiarly familiar… but before he could get a closer look, Nel had tugged on his arm and they were going through the door. Engraved on it was the dripping heart insignia which was on the boxes which had contained their uniforms.

A billow of smoke wafted in everyone's face, and after a minute of coughing, they had to advance with their sleeves or gloves over their faces. At the end of the smoky corridor was another door, even more expensive looking than the last one. The insignia was gold this time, and the doorknob was ridiculously polished and encrusted with jewels. _A single fucking rock from this door could support a family for a week in Airyglyph_, Albel thought murderously. Poverty was obviously not a problem in this place. Unlike what Albel had to grow up in, unlike what he had seen for a good portion of his life. And still in the present...

Seraph caught Nel and Albe's eyes. "Remember guys, these are the ones you've been looking for. Remember their names and faces, anything else you need to know."

Albel snorted, then coughed at the sting of the smoke. "We know, woman. How do you think we got to be at the positions we're in now? By _talking_ to become the captain of the Black Brigade and Crimson Blade?"

"Quiet," Sin reprimanded before raising his fist to the door and knocking three times. Breaths were held as footsteps made themselves heard. The door finally opened slowly, with a man with a walrus mustachio peering at them from the crack.

"And who are _you_?" he asked with a nasal voice.

"We are Sin, Soul, and Seraph Sinclair. We have an appointment with Lord Lockroi to discuss the upcoming performance tomorrow evening."

"And who are the _females_?"

"They are Smexy and X-Candy, here for their interviews. They applied for the jobs as waitresses and general help around the bar, and prefer to go by their stage names."

The Walrus peered at them suspiciously for another minute before finally submitting them through the door, opening it enough so all of them could barely slide through. The man then led them through another short corridor, the smoke getting thicker as they progressed. Walrus opened the door at the end for them, this one a work of art of gold and silver wires and crystal panels you could look through in colours. More smoke billowed out of the room, and the group looked at one another apprehensively before walking in, the door closing behind them promptly with a click.

The inside of this room was worth more than the rest of the building combined. Exotic plants dotted the expensive crystal floor, famous paintings hung on the custom painted walls, the furniture was lavish and covered with only the finest of materials. Costly trinkets were littered carelessly around the room, around the built in Jacuzzi in the floor, personal bar in the corner, maids in identical uniforms situated around the Jacuzzi, one behind every person inside it.

The men lounging inside the Jacuzzi all seemed to be ranging from middle aged to the elderly, all seemingly naked but thankfully hidden from view in the water and the smoke wafting up from their fat cigars stuck between yellowing teeth. Most of them were even overweight, a clear sign of wealthy living. Rings studded their fat fingers and necklaces dangled over hairy chests and rolls of fat. Nel even thought she could see a few nipples pierced, but she didn't look too closely. She didn't really want to vomit in such a serious situation.

The laughter and talk quieted down as the men finally turned their attention to the group. A few sent winks at Nel and Albel.

"Sinclair, you're on time as per usual." The greeter was one of the few who weren't overweight, surprisingly. There was no definite way to tell how tall he was, but Nel guessed that he was of average height. He had mousy brown hair, watery blue eyes, and a sallow complexion. She placed him in his late forties. Most likely the leader of this group, and most likely the leader of _Daddy's Little Rich Boys_, judging from the portrait behind him on the wall, with the plaque underneath it stating it in bold letters.

Sin inclined his dark head. "Of course. We were just requesting the instruments and lighting be perfect for tomorrow evening. I thought I might have had to speak with your stage manager for this, but they say that you have dismissed him."

Lockroi waved a hand. "Oh you know. Business isn't going so great what with the war gone and everyone settling down without a gun I made under their pillow. Had to let go some of the help around here. But that's fine, you can still talk to me about it. I'm not all _that_ illiterate around stages you know!"

Apparently the last line had been funny because this induced a round of laughter around the circle of men, causing their flubber to jiggle and the wine in their hands to splash onto the floor. It put Albel's teeth on edge and it was all he could do not to break a glass and stuff it up their large backsides with it. If he ever did and got into trouble, at least he'd get the satisfaction of seeing them waddling around like penguins because of it.

"And so, who are these lovely ladies?" Lockroi inquired when the laughter had died away. Nel stiffened beside Albel as the men averted their attention to the two of them, eyes leering and fat mouths smirking. _Ugh, it's like they're trying to undress me with their eyes_, Nel thought with disgust. She kept her face perfectly pleasant, if not slightly ditzy. She knew these type of business men – they preferred the slightly stupid and pretty over the smart and diligent only because it was easier to take care of sheep than foxes.

Sin stepped aside and gestured to each of them in turn. "This is Smexy and X-Candy. You scheduled their interviews tonight, and we happened to meet on the way here and became acquaintances. I must congratulate you on your choices."

Lockroi laughed. "Not at all, my boy, not at all. Why, when I saw your pictures, I knew I had to choose you out of all the others! No beauty at all, but you two."

Nel smiled and batted her eyelashes. "Why, thank you sir. Or can I call you Boss yet?"

"Oh, she's a cheeky one!" one of the men chuckled, elbowing another.

"I like the taller one. Look at those legs!"

"Nah, the other one has a slimmer waist. And look at her eyes!"

"Check out the rack on _her_."

Nel and Albel exchanged a creeped out glance. _I've never been so violated_.

"Hey girlies, think you can model for your uncles, hm?" one of the men leered with a twisted smile.

"Ah, n-"

"Certainly." Sin interrupted Albel's attempt at a girlish voice with a sly smile. "I'm sure we would all love to see what these girls are made of."

"Oh, we couldn't," Nel flirted, but her eyes sent a clear signal to _back off or I will rip off your vitals_.

But the men were all for it, and it looked as if the two couldn't escape from this one. Albel seemed to be refusing to go, balking from walking one step. Nel looked at him. "You gonna go?"

"Only when Vanilla marries Crosell." Albel snarled back.

Nel gave a shaky smirk. "Looks like I beat you in this area of field." Straightening her shoulder and lifting her chin, Nel strode forward confidently on her toothpick thin stilettos with a winning smile and swinging hips, biting the tip of her finger sexily as the men hooted. She walked to the Jacuzzi and back, smiling at the stunned look on Albel's face and laughter from the siblings. She threw a challenging glance at Albel, along with a smoldering half smile. "Think you can beat that, _X-Candy_?"

Albel's jaw snapped back into place as he met her challenge with a reckless smirk. "Watch me, Zelpher." He wasn't about to let Nel get the better of _him_. Throwing back his shoulders, he walked down to the Jacuzzi, eyes half closed and exuding danger and still being attractive at the same time. The men were going crazy as he pretended to drop something and had to bend over to get it (vox: bend, and snap!), throwing scorching looks over his shoulder as he retrieved it and walked back to the group.

Nel was shocked beyond belief. She knew this was funny, and somewhere in a distant part of herself laughter was welling up, but the shock was like a barrier. Albel had actually gone and flirted with other men like an experienced prostitute. And he'd pulled it off with style. _Wow, the female population has just got a new competitor_. Nel glanced over to the siblings to see how they were reacting as Albel neared them. Seraph was hiding a smile behind a hand, Soul was laughing, and Sin was... pointing a pen at Albel? It seemed somehow familiar...

Sin quickly hid it as Albel rejoined them, smiling victoriously at Nel. "Better than expected right?"

Nel raised an eyebrow. "It really was something on your part, Albel. _Really_ something."

The rest of the 'conference' was shortly over as Lockroi agreed to hire the two 'women'. They were so boisterous about the two newly hired maids that they even offered to 'upgrade' them as host club members, which they politely declined. They were led out of the room by Walrus and into the main bar, where they breathed in relatively cleaner air. But it had become much more crowded, the bar filled with the wealthy who had nothing to do. Tankards were passed around while hookers danced on side stages, men laughing and getting drunk while women flirted and eyed the competition. Sin led the group with Nel and Albel taking up the end.

The crowd was rowdy, loud, and too close. The girls (Seraph, Nel, and Albel) had to fight their way through behind the boys. Seraph shot frosty glares at the owners of the hands reaching out to her, and they were at once retrieved. Nel dodged and batted away groping fingers with ease and practice. Albel, seeing that he was unused to either groping hands or his stiletto boots, was slower at this and obviously not as experienced. Which thus, lead to yells of rage as the hands found their target.

Who knew that Albel was overly protective of his new rack and butt? Makes you wonder.

Nel turned around and grabbed Albel around the waist just as he was about to jump the two men who had the audacity to go for his rack and pinched his ass. It wasn't too hard this time – she had gotten used to the stilettos, while he hadn't so it was a simple matter of jarring his heels so he fell back and she had to support him slightly.

"You can't start a brawl in here, Candy, so stop it and let's get out!"

"_Don't call me Candy, maggot! My name is-_"

"_Who do you think you're talking to? Don't you know that I am THE Albel the Wicked?"_ A loud voice interrupted.

Confused, Nel and Albel stopped and looked at the stage, where the actors and actresses seemed to have already begun their act. One of the actors was wearing a violet skirt and carrying a sword, and brandishing a mock claw at another actor who was wearing a crown.

"Oh is that so?"

"Yeah, that's right! I'm the gender confused, skirt wearing crossdresser! Show a little respect, you soft maggot of a king!"

The crowd cheered as the actors continued to ridicule the Captain of the Black Brigade, the King of Airyglyph, and even the Crimson Blades of Acquaria. The crowd was so into it that they did not pay any heed to the two maids in the middle of the crowd, one trying to restrain the other.

"Hey Bob, whaddaya call a Crimson Blade with two brain cells?"

"Iiunno Bill, what?"

"_Pregnant_!"

"You-!" Nel let go of Albel and both of them surged through the crowd, heading for the stage. Both leapt over the chairs and onto tables, fists at the ready and seemingly forgetting that they were wearing the stilettos.

The actresses and actors seemed to not have noticed, and kept going on in their act. "I bet I, Albel Nox, can be prettier than a Crimson Blade!"

Uh oh.

That thought flew through Nel's head as she braked on a table and watched in slow motion as Albel, who had been slightly behind her, turned in the air and grabbed a huge lug of a man and smushed his lips against his. And the thing was, since he'd turned in mid-jump, his legs were dangling and the only way he was holding himself up was by his grip around the man's neck. The people around Albel roared with laughter and pointed, hooting and cheering as Albel finally ended the kiss and dropped to the floor. His next words were lost in the noise, but Nel spotted the horrified look on his face as the big man leered and leaned in for another. "What a pretty chicken. Ya wanna do that again?"

"Hey there, pretty. Mind demonstratin' to me like yer friend o'er there?" a man sitting at the table she was standing at asked slyly. He reached for her ankle, but Nel quickly leapt off and grabbed Albel's hand, shouting a 'no thank you!' behind her as both of them dove into the crowd.

Ten minutes of trauma later, Smexy and X-Candy emerged from the bar, tired, exhausted and beyond aggravated.

"What the hell are you laughing at!" Albel growled at the siblings, who were either outright laughing or smirking.

"Uhh, X-Candy? You might want to fix your shirt." Soul suggested between fits of laughter.

Nel cracked a grin as she noticed that Albel's corset strings had somehow loosened in the bar and his right fake boob was hanging out. Albel immediately flushed and cursed as he stuffed it back in roughly, tying the strings with fumbling fingers. But before it had been completely hidden, Nel thought she'd seen a black mark on it.

Seraph noticed her puzzling over Albel and came over to stand beside her. "Are you wondering about the mark?"

Nel nodded as Albel turned to storm at Sin and Soul. "Yes. What is it?"

Seraph chuckled. "It's the letter 'N'. And on his left is 'Z'."

Nel shot her an inquiring look. "Why would he have that on his fake breasts?"

"They're initials."

"Who's – _no way._"

"Yes, way. Since he doesn't wear boxers, I guess he decided to do it on his fake breasts. They are only made out of some polyester and other materials, so it's like a strange bra. Bra, underwear, still undergarments right?"

"But why _my_ initials?"

"You're gonna have to think or ask him about that, dear."

Nel held Seraph's look then let out a snort of laughter. Who knew why Albel would put her initials on his boobs? But then, he _was_ a bit twisted. And he _was_ Albel the Wicked. _And it **is** a bit cute, in a warped kind of way..._

Nel smiled and tugged on one of Albel's braids as she passed by. "C'mon, we'll get left behind."

"I can walk without your permission," Albel shot back, but she didn't miss the smile on his face.

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**v/s:** wow, I think we're stepping more and more into the unknown now with Albel acting stranger and stranger Oo Haha, sorry for the short-ish chappie guys. But I'll update sooner this time! 


	11. Chapter 11

**Say My Name**

**Written by** vox shade

**v/s:**Sorry for the delay guys, I got distracted by Ragnorak Online. On a lighter note, I have 100 reviews! xD Pwn4g3! huggles everyone And btw, sorry if it doesn't live it up.

**Disclaimer:** Star Ocean 3 belongs to Tri-Ace/Ubisoft/Square-Enix

**Chapter Eleven**

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"Finally home!" Soul said happily as he unlocked the door to the mansion and swung it in. The others murmured in agreement as they entered, letting the maids and butler help them out of their cloaks and shawls. The carriage ride home had been bumpy, thanks to the dirt paths and parts were sore due to the rocks.

Sin yawned and headed up the stairs, "I'll be taking a shower."

The others were just following when a polite knock on the door halted their tracks. "Who could it be _now_?" Albel grumbled as they watched the butler open the door.

"Hey guys!"

Nel smiled in surprise. "Fayt, Maria. This is a surprise." They exchanged greetings and the two blue headed teens entered the mansion and exchanged pleasantries with the siblings and Albel. It seemed that they knew Sin, Soul, and Seraph. She noted that each carried a large bulky package which they refused to let the maids and servants take from them.

"Why don't we all have tea in the family room?" Soul suggested. Everyone consented, and the maids scurried away to get the tea while everyone converged in the family room, the same room Nel and Albel got to know the siblings. Nel seated herself on a comfortable armchair while the others scattered around on other chairs in the large room. Albel chose to stand beside the window, partially hidden by the curtains and wearing a scowl on his face.

Nel leaned forward. "So, why are you here? I thought you were supposed to help with the cure."

Fayt coughed and looked away, pink staining his cheeks. "We were. We came up to relay the news."

"We came up with a temporary solution to Albel's 'Locking Lips' syndrome," Maria added.

"Really?" Nel asked. She watched with interest as Maria pulled out a small vial of fuchsia liquid from her package and held it up in the light of the chandelier. She immediately clenched it in her hand and brought it down into the safety of her lap as Albel swiped at the air where her hand had just been.

"You can ask for it, dear Candy," Maria said sweetly as she turned to look at him as he glowered from behind the sofa.

"Give it to me woman!" Albel growled, face noticeably pinker.

"Not used to seeing us like this, hm?" Nel commented to Fayt as the other two bickered. Fayt nodded, this time managing to return her gaze. "Yes. Especially Albel. I didn't think that they'd be so advanced in plastic surgery here…"

"It's not plastic surgery," Sin assured him. "He'd be in a murdering rage if he knew it was permanent."

"It's not!" Albel jerked up and glared at Sin, then switched to Seraph. "_Wench_, you said it was!"

"Did I?" Seraph asked, gazing out the window innocently. "I don't recall."

Nel noticed the vial again. "Maria, how long does that last?"

The self-assured teen shrugged a shoulder. "We don't know for how long. So it's best if you use it wisely, and only if you need it, alright Albel?"

"I know what to do!" Albel snapped.

The two started bickering again. Nel contemplated this new invention. It had been about two weeks since Albel had been drenched in Cliff and Roger's mistake. Two weeks only. It felt so much longer than that. But in such a short time, how did they make this temporary antidote?

"Fayt, how long did it take to make this antidote?"

Fayt scratched his head. "Well, it took a while to compile enough research to start on it. But once we got started, we discovered that this solution takes forever to make – two days for what you see in that vial there. It should last around six hours."

Nel raised an eyebrow and glanced over at Maria, who was busy arguing back at Albel while the siblings laughed. "I thought she said that you didn't know how long it will last."

"We decided that if we told Albel how long it would last, he might do something reckless. So as long as he knows it may run out at any time, he'll be cautious of how much he uses and when. I feel kind of bad for doing it," Fayt said with a smile, "but the others wouldn't budge on it."

Nel returned the smile, "it was a smart decision, don't feel bad. Not when it could minimize damage." She paused for a moment. "How'd you find out how long it lasted?"

"Oh, we experimented on Cliff."

"You mean, you gave him some of the Locking Lips liquid?"

"Yes. Both of them made it again, then Mirage sort of forced it down his throat. So now we have to be careful what we say around him."

"Sin, could I borrow a pen and paper?" Maria asked. Sin handed her a pen from his breast pocket, and Soul gave her a paper from the desk in the corner. "Thank you. I have to fax a message to Marietta. We're running low on fuel by now." She looked up from her first few words, "while I do this, you should discuss how you're going to be getting the conspiracy group. Or did you decide yet?"

Nel and Albel glanced at each other. "Actually, we haven't discussed it at all," Nel admitted.

"What's there to discuss?" Albel snorted, walking around and plopping himself onto a vacant chair. "We go in to the back room, find a list of the members since we know the filth Lockroi is the leader, and then we search them out and kill them."

"I would imagine that the Queen of Aquaria and the King of Airyglyph would have wanted less conflict if you could manage it," Seraph said dryly.

"By killing them, you assure you don't do anything so foolishly stupid again in the future; hence less conflict," Albel retorted smugly.

"I agree with Seraph," Soul spoke up from the door, carrying a tray a servant gave him. He set it on the table in the middle of the room, "you are not above the law, and the law dictates that those who commit crimes should have a trial before their sentence. To go against this would be going against your royalty."

Fayt nodded. "So I think you two should search and arrest only. Immobilize them _without_ killing them, and later collect them and ship them to the Airyglyph prisons to await their trials. Airyglyph castle because it's closer."

"We can't possibly immobilize them and hope they stay unconscious until we come back for them," Nel objected, frowning. "I would like to avoid bloodshed, but this plan is faulty."

"Which introduces us to the need for reinforcements," Sin said. "While you pursue the leader – Lockroi – you can have them take out the others. They shouldn't be too much trouble, more than enough to handle for them. They can then ship them to the prisons immediately even if you take your time."

Nel thought about it, and nodded. "It's good enough. We'll stick to this plan. But we'll more than likely encounter hired mercenaries, seeing that they did the same thing when trying to assassinate the king."

"In that case, we'll fight." Albel's lips curled up, "if they live or die is their problem – we are fighting for both our lives and to obtain the culprit. On the battlefield, anything goes."

Sin shrugged, "can't argue with that."

"Then it's settled," Maria declared, folding the missive and tucking it into her pocket, along with the pen. "But when are you going to put it in action?"

"As soon as possible," Albel replied firmly, knowing the Nel felt the same. The sooner they were finished, the sooner they could drop the maid act and get back to wearing whatever they wanted. _And get back to being a man._

"Alright then," Fayt said. He unraveled the bundle in his arms. Inside lay Nel's blade and dagger, along with Albel's Crimson Scourge and his claw. "We modified them slightly for you. They should be a little lighter, stronger, and sharper. We didn't do too much, because we know they're important to you."

Nel accepted her weapons with a thank you, liking the feel of their weight in her hands. She unsheathed them, and admired their keen edge. She could see her reflection clearly in the polished metal.

"But you won't be able to take them with you tomorrow to the bar," Seraph warned. "You would stick out too much. Maids generally don't have weapons with them when serving customers."

"So we'll have to sneak them in," Albel rolled his eyes.

"Or we can bring them in for you," Sin answered smoothly. "We _are_ performing there tomorrow. And unless I'm not mistaken, I think we're performing exclusively for a group of highly wealthy men, all politically declining due to their decreasing wealth."

"The conspiracy group?" Maria asked, arching an eyebrow. "Seems too coincidental to me."

"Damn right," Albel growled. "Why didn't you say so before?"

"Must've slipped my mind," Sin replied nonchalantly, gazing out the window again.

Nel chuckled at the siblings' teasing. They must like Albel enough to tease him without fearing getting hurt. Looking around the room at the faces, her gaze settled on the bundle sitting beside Maria. "Maria, what's in the bundle?"

"What, this?" Maria asked in a tone fooling no one. "Just brought it from the Diplo, some equipment we need to speed up the process of making that solution. We think that with this, we might be able to make a permanent antidote."

"Speaking of which, it's getting late." Fayt stood up and stretched. "We should be getting back to Peterney before it gets too dark."

"We'll call a carriage for you," Soul volunteered, beckoning to a servant.

"Thank you. Peterney is a way from Kirlsa," Maria said, standing as well. The siblings and both 'maids' escorted the two blue haired teens to the entrance hall, saying their farewells and wishes for good luck. The carriage clattered into the distance with Fayt and Maria on it, until the darkness was too thick to see it anymore.

"I think it's time to go to bed," Soul suggested. "You two have a big day tomorrow. You need your energy."

Albel grumbled about being older so shouldn't be treated as a child, even as he hobbled up the long spiraling staircase beside Nel. They reached their rooms, and said a short and slightly awkward good night to the other and entered their separate candlelit rooms.

Nel immediately sat on the floor and started to wrestle her hooker boots off. She sighed with pleasure as one foot became free. After wrestling the other off, she wriggled them with bliss, glad to be out of the confining space even if her feet were sore. After sitting on the floor for a few more minutes, she got up, checked that the door connecting her room to Albel's was locked, then undressed and slipped into sleepwear. She hadn't brought the set Clair had given her – instead, she'd brought an extra large t-shirt and a pair of shorts given to her by Sophia. Nel sighed, stretched experimentally, then set to work in the bathroom cleaning off her makeup. She couldn't wash her hair or shower because she didn't want to wash out the dye Soul had worked hard to colour her hair with, so she settled for washing her face.

Five minutes later Nel was pulling back the thick covers on her luxurious bed, looking forward to sleeping as soon as her head hit the pillow. But just as she was slipping one foot in, a thump made itself heard from behind the wall. Nel glanced over, knowing that Albel should be behind the wall, in his room. But what was that thump…?

_Thump. Thump thump thump CRASH._ "_Fuck_!"

Nel sighed and settled her foot back on the floor and crossed her room. She stopped in front of the door and hesitated before knocking. The stream of muffled curses stopped, and the room became silent. But she knew he was still up – light still filtered from underneath the door. So she knocked again, "I'm coming in."

Nel entered the room, heart slightly accelerating as she closed the door behind her. She sought Albel's form, wondering if he was hurt or –

Circling around the bed revealed the source of the thumping and crash. And the swearing.

There was Albel, on the floor, hands clamped around his boots, skirt riding up his legs in a tangle, his face flushed and expression like a dragon drenched in ice cold water for the first time.

Nel struggled to keep her laughter in, snickers escaping from behind the hand she'd used to cover her mouth. Albel immediately coloured even darker and snarled, "if you came here to help me, then help me Zelpher!"

Nel let out a laugh and knelt to help him with his boots. Closer up, his hands were clamped to his boots because he'd tangled his fingers in the strings lacing them up. After another fit of laughter, Nel managed to help him unlace his boots. They had to get Nel to yank his boots off because they were so tight, and when they finally gave she was sent sprawling across the floor twice. Albel wriggled his feet experimentally and winced slightly. "They'll be sore for a while," Nel said, standing his boots beside the door. "But if you soak them in hot water they might get a bit better."

"Whatever," Albel muttered, sitting on the bed and trying to untie the corset. But since it had been tied at the back, it was natural that he couldn't undo it. Nel sighed and clambored onto the bed and pushed his hands away.

"I don't need help this time!"

"Right. That's why you're about to claw off the corset," Nel retorted, unknotting the laces and loosening them. She helped him slip it over his head and folded it neatly onto the spot beside her. He took a deep breath and sighed. "Felt like a caged animal in those wretched contraptions. I don't know how you women can do it."

Nel arched a brow and helped him out of his white shirt (conveniently forgetting he didn't need more help). "Men should start appreciating the lengths of what women do to get their attention."

"Looks like they should," Albel grumbled, raising his arms so that Nel could pull it off. Nel caught her breath, seeing the expanse of smooth, unscarred skin. His muscles flexed whenever he moved, and she gulped, averting her eyes as she felt her temperature rise. It just hit her how intimate they were right now, sitting on a bed with him half naked and her only in a thin t-shirt and short shorts. She heard him slip off his gloves and collar, tossing his hat beside her hand. He got up and grabbed a pair of pants and walked into the bathroom, the sounds of flowing water reaching her ears through the closed door.

With a sigh, she slumped back into the plump mattress and turned her head to look at the candle on the bedside table. It was hot. She'd been like that for a while. Actually, she'd probably been that way since the morning Albel had stormed into her room and they'd had that miniature fight, ending with her in his arms for heart-stopping minutes. Nel squirmed on the blankets and glared at the ceiling. She was supposed to hate this man, the man who hurt her subordinates, who insulted everyone and everything, who got on her nerves with his callous words and actions. But that was in the beginning, before they'd traveled and fought together, albeit not always for the same results or beliefs, but together for the same goal. When they'd gotten back, there had been a few weeks when all of them were separated, tending to loose ends in their lives. For Nel , there had been nothing really to tend to, and so had been sent on mediocre missions where she had time to think about how much she missed everyone. Especially Albel, because she felt that he was the one closest to her in place of birth, language, knowing the other's culture, and personalities. Sometimes they'd finished each other's sentences, which had left them glaring at one another those times, but looking back it had been amusing to see how alike they thought.

But still – sure he was attractive, there was no denying that. But to be pulled by him by more than looks… there was when it became dangerous. It was risky, to put your heart on the line for another human. Hard to trust fully, even if it was someone like Fayt who earned everyone's trust from the first meeting. Albel was definitely not like Fayt, but still… why-

"Nel!"

Nel jerked up on the bed in surprise, seeing Albel stomping towards the bed in pajama bottoms and face dripping wet. And smeared with unnamable substances.

"Help me get off this blasted crap from my face!" Albel plunked down a basin of water onto the bed and sat beside it, crossing his arms and breathing heavily. Nel took one look at his face and collapsed into another heap of helpless laughter. Mascara was running down his face, his eyeliner smudged, lipstick covering the better part of his lower face. He looked like a desperate clown.

"Stop laughing, Zelpher!" Albel demanded hotly, pulling her up with her arm. She giggled, wiping a tear of laughter away from her eye. "You don't have to take it off, it makes you look so much more masculine you know," Nel teased. Albel swatted a cloth at her and flushed, "just get it off me."

Nel scooted closer and dipped the edge of the cloth into the lukewarm water and set to work wiping the make up off his face. It was proving difficult – it seemed it was a bit waterproof. But ten minutes later, she'd cleaned off his mascara, eyeliner, and most of the lipstick off. Silence had settled in, with Nel trying hard not to meet his eyes and trying to keep away from thoughts of admiring his muscles, chest, or face. She'd had to yank up her gaze a few times from his lips. But there was no avoiding it now – the only part left to clean off were his lips, which were red. The cloth was now a soddy mixture of red and black, and she had to find a clean part of it to get to work.

"Don't purse your lips so much. I can't get all of it when you do that."

"What do you expect, woman? This lipstick stuff tastes nasty."

"Then don't open your mouth so much."

"_You_ were the one who said to open it!"

Nel sighed. "Then try not to get it on your tongue and rinse it out later." She smudged some more lip stick off, feeling the temperature in her cheeks rise, and tried to blame it on anger. Of course it wasn't, but she _really_ needed an excuse right now.

"I'm sorry."

Nel's eyes flew to Albel's in shock. He was apologizing!

His eyes were sincere. "What? I'm sorry that I'm making you work so much right now, when you're tired."

Nel just stared until he flushed and looked away. She expected that she'd never get over him apologizing to her, but her heart jumped that he did it. This was a rare show of emotion from Albel, and she sure wasn't going to forget a moment of it.

She couldn't hold back the delighted smile, "it's fine. The sooner we get this over with, the sooner we can forget about this makeup and shoes."

Albel nodded, letting her wipe off the last of his lipstick. "There," she said with satisfaction, her gaze roaming his face for any sign of makeup she might have missed. Seeing none, she quickly picked up the basin and cloth and dumped them into the sink in the washroom, letting the dirty water drain before clogging the sink to let the cloth soak. She stepped out of the washroom and decided to head for her room, seeing that there really was no more purpose for her to be in here anymore.

"Nel."

"What?" Nel asked, but jumped a little as it hit her that he was standing close to her. How'd he get there so fast?

Albel stepped forward closer, until she could see that his pupils had become slightly bigger, so that he seemed to be peering into her soul. She swallowed, and tensed, waiting for him to say or do something. Silence dominated, the only sounds being their breathing. His breath ghosted over her cheek, time stilling. He drew nearer, and something responded in Nel, she drawing closer as well. Her lips were tingling as his breath touched her, scant inches apart, crimson eyes drawn to emerald. Her heart was racing wildly, muscles tensed, millions of half formed thoughts dashing through her brain –

"Albel, Nel it's time to sleep!" Soul called as he knocked on the door, making Albel and Nel jump apart. Soul's footsteps receded down the hall, and this left our two heroes staring at each other, shocked. Stricken, Nel realized that Soul knew that they were both in Albel's room, alone. Flushing, she muttered a hasty good night and managed to walk into her room like a sane person before throwing herself onto her bed.

_Dear Apris, I almost kissed Albel Nox. It's not the first, but the first time I almost did it without saying his blasted name! _At least when she'd said his name or someone else had, she'd at least had the excuse of blaming it on his syndrome. But just now… Nel buried herself under her blankets and blew out the candle before sticking her head underneath her pillow. Damnit, her lips still tingled. Damnit, she still wanted it.

Nel groaned and tossed around before glaring up at the darkness, then at the direction the door was in. there were no sources of light anymore, either from candles or the light underneath the door because obviously he'd gone to bed as well. He'd better be in the same torturous state of mind she was in now, or she'd be embarrassed that she'd been the only one affected by it. Stupid Albel, stupid Albel's good looks, stupid hormones, stupid heart racing like it was being chased by an enraged Crosell…

Nel jerked up suddenly. _What if it's not just hormones? What if…_ she knew she'd pondered it on Albel's bed when he'd been washing up, but to seriously take it into consideration… She couldn't _possibly_ like him, could she? Couldn't possibly _more than_ like him…

Could she?


	12. Chapter 12

**Say My Name**

**Written by** vox shade

**v/s: **Gahh, sorry guys > ; RO distracted me once again. Soooo close to becoming an assassin. cough Anyway, sorry for the uberly late delay with chapter twelve. And I'm happy to say that the ending is in sight! A few more chapters, and then an epilogue, and this spectacular fic will come to an end. I have a few more ideas for more fics, and most probably SO3 fics so you'll be seeing more of me. Anyway, that's it. Sorry for the kinda short chappie.

**Disclaimer:** Star Ocean 3 belongs to Tri-Ace/Ubisoft/Square-Enix

* * *

**Chapter Twelve**

"Watch where you're poking, woman!"

"I thought Albel the Wicked wouldn't whine at just a few adjustments."

"It's damn _tight_."

"And so was your half shirt," Seraph retorted, giving the laces of his corset a last yank before tying them securely.

"Not half as tight as this contraption," Albel growled, struggling to get in a deep breath.

Nel tried not to wince too much at the tightness. This was not what she needed when she'd just woken up, but it couldn't be helped. They'd both slept in late until two in the afternoon, and had to rush with Seraph's help with their clothes. It'd been the latest she'd ever slept in, and the main reason was due to the fact that she'd stayed up most of the night trying to get Albel out of her mind. He had an annoying habit of popping up whenever she tried to sleep, especially when he popped up with only a small black towel slung around his waist, like he's just gotten out of the shower.

Nel glared at Albel's reflection in a nearby mirror. It may have been around six thirty in the morning before she'd gotten any rest at all. And even then he didn't leave her alone in her dreams. What he was doing, she wouldn't even _try_ to remember – it left her sanity perfectly healthy that way.

Their behavior towards each other was as if last night had never happened. Calm discussion of tactics, occasionally helping the other out with their clothes or boots (curse the boots!) It both annoyed and elevated Nel's mood. Elevated because this prevented any potentially embarrassing recounts, annoyed because it probably had not affected him that much. So Nel contented herself with stabbing her lunch with her fork, picturing the steamed manju buns as his face in the dining room half an hour later.

"...Nel? Are you alright?" Soul asked tentatively.

"Never better," Nel replied tersely, not stopping nor taking her eyes off of the bun.

She could tell that the siblings and Albel exchanged looks. Sin coughed, "our performance is going to be around nine in the evening. After that, we'll be behind the stage with your weapons."

"We'll contact the teams set up around the bar for back up at that time as well, so that you can focus on Lockroi," Seraph said, starting to clear the table.

Nel pushed away the mashed manju bun and nodded. "The reinforcements from Acquaria should be bringing some equipment from Fayt. He said he'd ask Maria to help us a bit."

"Excellent," Soul said, taking her dish away and handing it to a maid. "Their technology should speed things up."

"How do you know them?" Albel asked.

"Oh, here and there," Soul said with a shrug. "You can have thirty minutes to yourself to do whatever needs to be done. Then meet in the entrance hall at three thirty, alright?"

**Pockets? What Pockets?**

"I can't take it anymore," Albel hissed, yanking off his maid hat.

"We still have hours to go Albel," Nel said patiently. "And we have to wait for an opportunity to get into the back rooms, still."

"I know that!" Albel growled, securing the doorknob of the broom closet they were in. "But I can't stand those lust driven worms out there!"

Nel scoffed, "it's only six right now Albel. You can't hide in here until nine." But she couldn't help smirking – she was used to groping drunkards, and had mastered how to dodge them easily on her heels. Albel however, was a bit slower on the uptake. Even though he had managed to learn how to balance a bit better, wandering hands still managed to find their unwilling target. After a few hours, it seemed as if Albel was becoming paranoid of men.

Albel glared. Then a slightly insane half smile darkened his features. "But I have this," Albel triumphantly withdrew the small pink vial from inside his corset.

"Albel... did you just get that out from your _bra_?" Nel asked incredulously.

He shrugged. "I have no pockets." Albel immediately proceeded to popping out the cork and tipping the contents back into his mouth before Nel could say a word of caution about the time limit. He made a face before tucking the vial back into his corset. "Too sweet."

Nel sighed. "Alright, this time let's not get into any fights with the customers, no screaming when someone grabs your ass, or breaking any more plates. If we get fired, we won't have easy access anymore."

Albel kept his silence, seeming to find no retort for this because Nel had effectively avoided doing both for the time they'd been on the shift.

Albel crept out of their hiding place (the broom closet) first, and Nel slipped out behind him. She'd just closed the door behind her when –

"X-Candy, Smexy, just _what_ are you doing here?"

Nel nearly jumped and hastily pretended like she hadn't and faced the owner of the nasal command. Walrus was walked down the hall towards the two of them imperiously, huge mustache swaying with every step he took. His beady eyes swept across them as he drew to a stop a few paces away. "You are to present yourselves in the master's hall and complete your duty of cleaning it from top to bottom," he said without waiting for an excuse. "I don't want to see a _speck_ of dust, understood? And if I find one more broken item, both of you are fired."

That said, he drew himself off like a huffy peacock and walked away, leaving the two spies to glare a fiery death at his back.

"Let's get going. The sooner we finish this, the sooner I can kill him." Albel scowled and set off on a fast pace and Nel hurried to keep up with him, their heels making a strange four-beat clicking against the tiles like a horse as they navigated through the employee halls to another door which led to Lockroi's VIP quarters.

Inside the luxurious corridor, they found cleaning equipment. With much arguing, debating, and stone-knife-parchment battles (rock paper scissors), Albel was forced to sweep and mop the floors while Nel cleaned the shelves and reordered the rooms. Time ticked by surprisingly fast under the Walrus's supervision, who had come an hour into their cleaning duty with suspicions of broken objects. The clock in the second to last room told them it was a quarter to eight – nearly time for Sin, Soul, and Seraph's performance. It seemed to be exciting Walrus as well, because he suddenly excused himself to see to another duty, leaving them alone.

What are a pair of undercover spies to do when alone in the evil mastermind's unprotected lair?

**Tiptoe Through (cough) Aroundthe Fat Men.**

"...and do not speak unless spoken to. Do I make myself clear?" Walrus demanded. Nel and Albel copied the rest of the waitresses and nodded once before arranging themselves into two equal lines flanking the door to the bar. The place was empty, since it was now closed early to the general public on this 'special occasion'. Nel and Albel, not knowing what it was, had scrambled outside of Lockroi's quarters as soon as they had copied down the list of names of the conspiracy group members which had been tactfully put up on the back of the door, decorated with that oh-so-inconspicuous gold fringe and gems on the plaque.

Distantly, they heard the sound of a dull rumbling. Nel turned her head and tried to see past the other three maids beside her to locate the source of the noise. In the far corner by the stage was a door she'd never noticed – a black, plain door. That in itself was strange enough in this wealthy bar, since most of the doors were somehow outrageously decorated with obscenely expensive themes.

"_Smexy_! Do not let me catch you day dreaming again!" Walrus snapped by the door, his beady eyes set on her.

Nel nodded a bit stiffly and forced a dazed apology through her lips. She refused to match Albel's gaze and instead looked slightly above the head of the maid across from her, resolutely refusing to look at the door anymore.

With all this commotion there had to be something big happening. It was only a few minutes before nine, and the atmosphere was tense. Perhaps Lockroi was coming with special guests. If they had any luck it would be the rest of the conspiracy group, _Daddy's Little Rich Boys_.

Suddenly, Walrus turned and yanked the door open and settled into a deep bow, "Sir, welcome back."

Lockroi entered with a charming smile which didn't quite reach his eyes. "It's good to be back. I trust everything is set?"

"Yes sir."

"Very well. We should commence as soon as we can."

With that, Lockroi lead a group of men through the aisle the two lines of waitresses made and straight to the luxurious chairs set up in front of the stage. Nel silently counted twenty one men, excluding Lockroi – exactly the amount of men in the conspiracy group. This could be no coincidence – today was the day and it would soon be close to the time they were to act.

As soon as the last man was cleared from the aisle, Walrus hissed at everyone to grab a pre-prepared small serving platter of drinks and snacks to their assigned person. Nel had number twenty-one, the man in the seat at the end of the second row (there were three rows – two seats in the front, ten in both middle and back). She noticed Lockroi sat in the front seat with another unidentifiable man as she politely served the overweight Mr. Twenty-One. The lights flashed onto the stage and the men stopped chatting and directed their attention to the parting curtains.

Seraph appeared on the stage, mystically beautiful as her long white hair floated around her, shining like a strange aura. Dressed in Aquaria's finest, she was a gem which apparently tempted many in the audience. She didn't speak, but immediately parted her lips and proceeded to sing the most beautiful song Nel had ever heard. _If there was a ever a melody Apris would listen to, it's this_…

Nel relaxed for a total of five minutes as Seraph sang, and was finally roused from her daze only when she finished. Enthusiastic applause followed Seraph as she curtsied gracefully and disappeared behind the stage curtains, but not before she had shot Nel a significant glance.

It was not long before the lights dimmed again and the stage curtains parted, this time revealing Sin and Soul standing, facing each other, both wearing strange garments Nel had never seen before. It was slightly like those she had seen Peppitta wear, both somewhat tight yet had flaps at the sleeves and the front and back of the shirt. Sin held a long, ornate silver double-edged sword while Soul held a wickedly sharp dagger in each hand, their blades at least a foot long, much like Nel's. Both didn't say a word either, but bowed to one another and commenced to battle on the stage. Both displayed perfect form – both were obviously adept in the art of blades. They could easily have become the next Captain of the Black Brigade and Crimson Blade. But, Nel noted with slight pride, Albel was slightly better than Sin with the sword.

Surprisingly, when they walked off the large stage, they had not left one scratch on either curtains or floor. The enthusiasm wasn't as great as when Seraph had sang, but Nel suspected that it was largely due to the men's jealousy and envy of two such fit young warriors. This wasn't surprising, but when she heard a few bad mouthing the two brothers she had a strong urge to grab the sausages in their meaty hands and strangle them with it.

Mr. Twenty-One patted her hand. "I'd like more of this stuff," he said gruffly, not even having the grace of looking much higher than her chest. "Of course, sir," Nel said with as much ditziness she could muster and turned on her heel and clicked her way to the bar.

"Nel," Albel whispered, catching up to her, holding serving plate with an empty plate and glass as well. "We should go. They should be waiting for us behind the stage. I heard that there are only a few more performances left."

Nel glanced around, noticing that the bartender was busy kissing up to one of the waitresses to even refill their trays. Walrus was by the front, standing vigilantly by Lockroi, and everyone else was busy watching three scantily-clad women dance a scandalous dance.

She caught Albel's eye and nodded. "We should go by the servant halls. There should be on leading to the stage room."

As quickly and silently as they could, both slipped into the shadows of the back of the room and through the wooden door of the servant halls. The lights had been dimmed, but they made their way steadily to the stage room, listening hard beyond the sound of the clicks of their high heels.

"Do you know which door is the stage door?" Nel asked suddenly, slowing her pace. Albel shot a glare at her, "I was following you because I thought _you_ knew."

They stopped at a split in the hallway. It was hard to see, but sight didn't really help at the moment – none of the doors had any signs on it, which Nel hardly found intelligent. But then, she supposed it doubled as a security purpose against burglars. Spies, in this case. Nel sighed and opted to listen, since they weren't walking anymore it should be easier to hear any noises which may point them towards the stage room.

"You hear something?" Albel asked with a slight frown.

Nel nodded. "It's coming from that door," she pointed to the right door, identical to every other door they had passed. She quickly followed Albel down the short corridor and through the door quietly – only to be grabbed roughly by Albel and shoved back inside.

"What is it?" Nel whispered, knowing that Albel wouldn't intentionally harm her unless there was something wrong inside the room. Her arm was starting to hurt where he was gripping it however. He kept a steely silence and peered through the slight gap in the door, then shook his head. "This isn't the place. Let's go."

Nel frowned. If there was something causing a reaction like this in Lockroi's lair, then it had to be important. "No," Nel whispered stubbornly, "I want to check it out. It might help us later on."

Albel seemed to be measuring her up by the serious look in his crimson eyes. For a moment, she thought he might refuse, but he gave a curt nod. Moving slightly out of the way, he made room for Nel to move up to the door and peer through the gap. She gave an inaudible gasp.

Beyond the door was a red-painted hallway with many entrances without doors. Instead of doors, they had a lacy black curtain hanging at the front. The lights were dim, and she could smell incense and something spicy. Lewd paintings decorated the walls. But compared to these paintings, the young women being herded inside were far worse. Nel faintly guessed the youngest to be sixteen, the oldest around her early twenties, and none of them decently covered at all. It seemed as if their clothing had been torn from their bodies, leaving them in scraps of rags and their undergarments and shoeless. Their wrists were bound together with thick ropes in harsh knots, their feet tied together but with some length to allow them to walk but not enough length to run. There weren't three or four – rather, almost thirty being pushed and shoved by muscled, rough-looking men who were putting two in each room. Each of the women's faces were terrified, streaked with tears, and in some cases bruised.

Her eyes caught on a head of orange hair and her heart constricted as she recognized Tynave's bruised face. Her jaw clenched as she realized that she was being shoved into a room with Farleen. But her heart relaxed slightly as she noticed that neither seemed to have the crumpled, defeated look all the other women had. But that did not prevent her from fisting her hands in anger, so much so that her nails dug into her palms. Evidently, the women here were the dessert course after the main entertainment for _Daddy's Little Rich Boys_. These people were despicable, lower than scum. If only she had her daggers – no, in fact, she did not need her daggers. She could just go in now and punch all of them into pulp. That seemed like a good idea, what was more appealing was the thought to get into action _now_…

The door suddenly closed. Nel glared down at the hand which had pulled the door. "Open it," she said softly, but with a steely undertone.

"You can't go in there unarmed and in nine inch heels, woman. Forget it," Albel retorted.

"I'll be _fine_." Nel turned to glare at Albel, chin set at a stubborn angle. Albel glared hard into her eyes, "I know you aren't suicidal, Nel. So you aren't going in there."

"_They have Tynave and Farleen!_" Nel hissed, nails digging more into her palms.

"All the more reason to be careful with the plan," Albel said, his voice quiet compared to her near-yell.

Nel's anger spiked. Did he not understand? Two of her most loyal subordinates were taken by force to perform Apris only knew what for the scum in the bar. But it wasn't just her subordinates – all the women in there were experiencing terror perhaps only second to what they experienced during the war. And here Albel was, her partner, barring her from entering the room and saving them. It seemed like a twisted replay of when he had taken both Tynave and Farleen as hostages. He had prevented her from saving them then, and he was doing the same now.

"_Get out of my way_," Nel hissed, her heartbeat pounding in her ears.

"No," Albel replied calmly.

Before she had time to think about it, she had curled back her right arm and thrown a punch at his face. He blocked it with his left hand, and before she could twist out of it his other hand had clamped around her body and had pressed her against him in an un-budging grip. His arm wound around her neck and his hand cradled the back of her head so that her face was slightly pressed against his chest.

She was about to yell when she heard the source of his actions: a set of lone footsteps echoing in the halls, steadily coming closer to the fork. Nel tensed, anger temporarily forgotten. If they decided to go down the left hall, they were screwed. There were no places to hide, the lights weren't dim enough to be unseen in darkness, and they couldn't go hide in the hallway with those men who were most likely mercenaries.

The footsteps got closer, and they paused at the fork. Nel could see the tip of a shadow at the fork from around the gentle curve of the hall.

Nel held her breath. They were weaponless, in ridiculous heels and vulnerable. If they were revealed now…

Chaos would be sure to follow.

* * *

**vox**: Nel and Albel, in a dark corner between a rock and a hard place? What will they do? 


	13. Chapter 13

**Say My Name**

**Written by** vox shade

**v/s: **Okay... I don't get it, but why are some people afraid of reading my fic? Oo I've heard from some that they were afraid to read this at first, and I can kinda understand because of the whole Cliff-and-Albel thing, but I did mention in the third chapter (I thinks) that this wasn't a yaoi fic... makes me sad T-T And yes, it is official: I am developing an unhealthy addiction to Ragnarok Online.

**Disclaimer:** Star Ocean 3 belongs to Tri-Ace/Ubisoft/Square-Enix

* * *

**Chapter Thirteen**

They had been frozen in time. Albel, leaning against the wall, Nel held firmly in his embrace, with no space in between. She could hear his heartbeat racing, despite the calm tone he had used before. It was strange, because the fact was that she was pressed against his fake breasts. The footsteps had passed by their hall what felt like an eternity ago, going down the left hall instead of the left where they were locked into place. But for some reason, the constricting feeling inside didn't ease; it pressured her even more.

"You can breathe now," Albel whispered against her ear.

It took a second for her to realize it, but when she did she let out her breath with a whoosh and valiantly sucked in another to replenish her oxygen-deprived brain. Albel chuckled and ruffled the back of her hair almost affectionately. Nel scowled, "let go."

Albel smiled, "as you wish." He loosened the strength in his arms and Nel stepped back from his warmth, cheeks flushing pink. She could still smell him.

Albel chuckled knowingly as he passed by her, his steps quiet taps against the tiles. "A minute more and I would have kissed you."

...This only served to accelerate her just-friggin-calmed-down heart. She stared at his back blankly, then smirked as she tried to stop blushing. Looked like even Albel the Wicked could have a cute side after all.

She quickly caught up to Albel and together they backtracked down the hall they had come from, when one of the doors opened and someone hissed, "Nel, Albel. Here!" Nel and Albel started and walked quickly to Seraph, who was beckoning from the stage room door connected to the servant hallways. Both slipped in and looked around. There were a few performers getting ready in small groups or by themselves, and didn't seem to really care about them too much. Sin and Soul joined them from a corner, carrying cloth-covered bundles.

Soul handed his bundle to Albel, and Sin gave Nel his. She could tell by the weight and shape that under the cloth were her daggers. "Thank you," Nel murmured. "No problem," Sin said with a wink. "Least we can do."

"Your clothes are in here," Seraph said, producing two bags seemingly out of nowhere. She had changed into different clothes, along the same style as what the brothers were wearing (picture it Chinese style, except with runes patterned on it instead of dragons or phoenixes). Nel took it off her hands and looked around and spotted a screen set up in a corner of the room, where a tall bundle was leaning against the wall which she thought to be a prop. She hurriedly crossed the room and checked if anyone was behind it before ducking around it and stripping herself of the waitress's uniform.

It felt great to be back into her own clothes, which were comfortable and not constricting. It felt even better to buckle on her belt and slip her daggers into them, liking the feeling of the weights by her sides. She also liked the fact that she was covering more skin than the uniform could ever cover.

She rejoined the group and rejoined the group as Albel left to change. She fixed her gaze on Seraph, "any word about reinforcements?"

Seraph nodded, "they're already here. Two of your agents are inside the building already. The rest outside have been equipped and given high-tech handcuffs."

"They've been developed especially for this mission," Soul said. "They're these blue rings, and when you put one around each wrist they automatically lock together with high magnet power. They glow and suspend around the limb when activated. They're quite ingenious for this planet, in fact."

"The ones inside are Tynave and Farleen right?" Nel said with a nod to Soul.

"Yes," Sin replied as Albel rejoined them, fully clothed in normal clothes. The conversation was broken as everyone struggled to stifle their laughter which lead to a lot of snorting because Albel still had breasts and thus, made him look like a punkish woman.

"Shut up! Worms!" Albel snarled, apparently uncaring now whether anyone saw him or not because most of the stage room had been emptied by now and only two performers remained, but seemed not to care.

"Come here, let's get those off you," Seraph said kindly with a glint in her eye and led him back to the screen. Nel had managed to bite back her chuckles when a sound like a Velcro ripping off insued from the corner and a biting yell came right after.

"**_Scum! Just what do you think you're doing!_**"

"Taking it off, what else?"

_ChhhhhhAK!_

"**_Argh! You could be more gentle about it, maggot!_**"

"Don't be such a crybaby. See, at least people can tell that you're more a man than a woman now."

"**_The hell are you insinuating, woman!_**"

"You work it out yourself."

Sin, Soul, and Nel all chuckled and immediately looked away from each other as Albel stormed back, determined not to laugh…. In his face, of course. Albel's expression was mutinous as he slid his sword into the sheath with a menacing hiss. Seraph came into view, holding a bag Nel assumed to be his Velcro fake breasts. Oh, if only she could get her hands on them, she'd have Albel forever in her pocket with her little blackmail.

Sin seemed to notice her eyes on the bag and smiled, then coughed when Albel looked at him suspiciously. "Alright, let's get this mission over with. I'll let the reinforcements outside know that you've started to move, and they should enter in five minutes, that'll give you some time to locate the ringleader without them knowing too much until it's too late. If you come across anyone, knock them out and leave them to be arrested by the reinforcements. Your primary goal is Lockroi."

Albel snorted, "you sound like Arzei. Shut up and let's go."

Nel smirked, and shot one last look at the bag then turned and followed Albel out the door and into the servant halls. They quickly made their way to the door they'd been cornered at, and peered in. Her blood was thrumming with pent up energy, her hands itching at her blades. Her eyes narrowed as she glimpsed a mercenary rough handling a woman into a room.

"They're here," Albel whispered softly. He moved to allow Nel to peer through the crack in the door. As he had said, the men who had followed Lockroi into the bar were now eagerly making their way into the hallway, peering behind the curtains and picking which room to enter. Nel was disgusted to see that some had already started to remove articles of clothing, and her anger started to boil. As if sensing her temper, Albel laid a hand on her shoulder from beside her, "wait until most of the hall has cleared, then we can start destroying the filthy scum."

Nel nodded, and told herself to be patient and wait just a little longer before busting down the door and rescuing Tynave and Farleen. The corridor filtered out as the men disappeared behind chosen curtains and the mercenaries started lumbering off down the hall, muttering to one another. As soon as the last broad back had disappeared around the corner, Nel stepped inside, daggers drawn and ready for action. Her eyes swept the hall, wondering which room contained her friends.

Before she had settled on which room to wreak havoc in, Albel had swept by and deftly pushed aside the curtain of the nearest room. "Albel, what're you-?" Nel's words were cut off by a thud, thump, a partial scream, then Albel showing up at the doorway again with a grim smile. "They're not in there, but let's keep going."

_Short, sweet, and to the point. That's Albel for you_, Nel thought, somewhat enviously.

He strode across the hall and disappeared behind the curtain and Nel passed by the first room, making her way for the one beside it when she peered in and snickered at the sight. Somehow, Albel had managed to yank both of the fat man's feet behind his thick neck (ouch...) and tie them together there, and his arms tied behind his back. It appeared that he had tied them using the ropes which had tied the two girls' hands together. The girls were now looking at her fearfully, and back to the passed out man, but Nel gave them a reassuring smile and set to work.

She dove into the next room and kicked the old man off another girl and swiftly cut the ropes which bound them off, and tied the man in the same fashion as Albel had. Satisfied, she quickly ran out and into another room, where she repeated the same process, keeping quiet and as quick as possible. She a bit of difficulty with the man in the seventh door down – he was abnormally obese – but in the end it had worked out with two handy toothpicks found and stuck into – convenient – places which held him still.

Nel stepped back into the hallway and spotted Albel nearing the tenth – second last – room of his side of the hallway and decided to speed it up when a man was flung from the room she was about to enter. Two people burst out after him, and tackled him as he screeched and tried to stand up. She recognized them before they stood up with triumphant smiles and saluted. "Sorry for making you wait, Lady Nel," Tynave and Farleen chorused.

Nel smiled as she was flooded with relief. "No problem. I'm just glad you two are fine."

"Thank you Lady Nel."

"You should go up ahead, Lady Nel," Tynave said, kicking the man's head into the floor to knock him out. "The ringleader should be in the warehouse, at the end of the hall. Farleen and I will finish up here, and you and Lord Albel can find Lockroi. Reinforcements are already infiltrating the bar as we speak, and will be here shortly. You will only have to fight alone for at the most, ten minutes."

Nel nodded and with a salute, took off down the hall. A curtain moved and Albel joined her as they both raced down the hall and around the corner, their steps in sync as they drew to a halt in front of a heavy-looking, metal doorway with a huge metal lock.

Albel cast it a perplexed look. "You have a lock pick, Nel?"

Nel shook her head and stepped forward. "The problem with these kind of people are that they only go for appearances. Usually, the more ornate and bigger it is –" she raised a hand and the lock glowed, "-the easier they are to open." The huge door swung open silently, and Albel lifted an impressed eyebrow. Nel smiled and slipped inside the dark warehouse, drawing her daggers and peering around dark shapes of boxes and crates. The windows were covered with drapes of cloth, making it hard to see. No sound could be heard other than from the noises coming from behind them in the hallway. Yet, this as the only place the mercenaries and Lockroi could be, since there were no other exits. Unless there was an exit from here as well? It made sense…or perhaps Lockroi had decided to enjoy himself after all and had been in one of the rooms she had left unchecked.

Albel and Nel crept through the maze of boxes, crouching slightly as they made their way silently to the center of the warehouse, where they found a kind of lab. Albel let out a sound of disgust as he examined a test tube. "It's crystallized hemlock. This place is a drug factory _and_ an illegal whoring house. It's a wonder we never caught him."

Nel nodded in agreement as she placed the beaker back where she'd found it – this would be a job for the crime department when they could get here.

Signalling to Albel, Nel lead the way through the boxes, heading for the other side of the warehouse. If Lockroi wasn't here, they had to find him as soon as possible.

Nel peered around as they neared a large clearing in the boxes, and thought she saw some oddly shaped, looming parcels. But before she could ponder it, a voice rang through the air. "It took you filth long enough."

A light came on directly over the clearing, although dim enough so Nel could adjust quickly and make out Lockroi standing on a stack of boxes just in front of them, and the clearing surrounded by mercenaries. Nel glared and stood firmly, refusing to show any sign of weakness. They didn't scare her – she'd been up against Luther for Apris' sake – but the danger was real enough. This man was cornered, and a cornered animal was the most dangerous of all.

"After all the clues I had left you, it took you this long to catch up with me," Lockroi said in a genuinely disappointed tone. "It's a wonder you made it to your positions without intellect. But then, the standards for the army always were slipping."

_Whoa, clues? _"If you wanted to be caught Lockroi, you could have saved us the trouble and made a one way trip to jail yourself," Nel said sarcastically, knowing perfectly well that that was not his intention.

"You really are clueless, aren't you?" Lockroi sneered, seemingly not noticing her sarcasm. "You really thought I'd be foolish enough to target the king and queen when their two most loyal and dangerous allies were alive? Of course not – I'd have to be as unintelligent as you two to think so. The main objective was, of course, to exterminate you in order to have a clear path to my true goal."

Nel caught a sudden movement from the corner of her eye and froze to see Albel doubling over, in pain. Her mind registered a blank. None of the mercenaries had moved, so how could he have been injured so quickly? Did they attack while she had been occupied with Lockroi from behind? Was Albel okay? But she couldn't move now... not when they were both surrounded, no matter how weak they might be they were outnumbered.

But then a sound escaped the Captain of the Black Brigade, and it wasn't a cry of pain. Instead, it was a slight chuckle, his shoulders shaking, until he was laughing his infamous maniacal laughter which raised hairs on her skin, and caused the circle of fighters to withdraw slightly, eyes focused on Albel the Wicked as he laughed. Nel, too, found it strange that he could laugh in a situation like this, when they were trapped and fighting against at least forty mercs. But then, she had always known that he wasn't wired the same as normal people in the first place.

"You think-" Albel chuckled again, straightening up to his full, formidable height, "-that we didn't notice this? That we would follow your breadcrumbs and not know what we were getting in? And to top it off, you bring in these... do you call these mice mercenaries? After humoring you this long, I would have thought you wanted to end your life in a better way than this, dying in a musty warehouse surrounded by those only loyal to coin. You really have no idea do you?" Albel snickered, his smile not reaching his ice cold eyes. "Frankly, this is an insult, to think that I and the Crimson Blade would die fighting a few pests. If anything, you are the disappointment, worm."

Nel noticed restless movement in the men surrounding them as Albel kept shooting his mouth off, distracting Lockroi. She knew that he was trying to get him angry enough to slip up and make a mistake due to anger. But not only was it affecting Lockroi under his cool, yet slowly breaking, composure, it was affecting the men he had hired. She could see the murderous gleam in their empty eyes, and the glint of blades being drawn. It was true that Albel and herself were looked up to as some of the best fighters in the continent, but up against these numbers, she had a prickle of doubt.

She was the first to catch the movement. Nel turned and simultaneously kicked the legs from underneath the mercenary who had tried to dart in to stab her side and hit him soundly on the top of his head with the hilt of her dagger to knock him out cold. It was over within a moment, cutting off the conversation effectively.

Nel smiled sinisterly as she received shocked looks at her speed and glared at Lockroi. "Sorry, you were saying something along the lines of exterminating us?"

Lockroi quickly slid his mask in place to hide his fearful expression. His face hardened with hatred. "You will be exterminated soon enough, if not by the number of these men, then by your weakness, Nel Zelpher and Albel Nox."

When nothing happened, Albel casually looked over his shoulder. "So you know about it? Or rather, knew about it. It's too late, scum, it's worn off long ago. And _I _thought you were slightly intelligent."

Lockroi's mask shattered to reveal his shocked face, eyes wide and mouth slack. Both Nel and Albel took the time to smirk coldly as Lockroi slowly processed the fact that his trump card had been nothing but a bluff. But they knew better – the absence of the Locking Lips Syndrome was temporary, for the time being until Fayt and the others found the permanent solution. Nel guessed that it should wear off in two or three hours, plenty of time to fix this problem and head home.

"**_What are you doing just standing there? I'm paying you to kill this filth!_**" Lockroi shouted shrilly, finally losing his head. The men looked at each other and seemed to be trying to decide when a huge, burly man swinging an axe burst from the back of a crate and barreled to Albel with a shout. Spurred by the act of a leader, the others joined in and the warehouse was soon filled with shouts and sounds of fighting.

Nel couldn't spare a moment to look at Albel, because there were just _too many_ men trying to kill her at once. She was in constant action, slashing with both blades and performing runology when the number of men became overbearing. She cleared a mob of mercenaries quite neatly with a spell of ice, freezing their bodies in place. When there was a break in the action, Nel looked around and noted that she and Albel had separated, caused by the mercenaries which had divided them. The number of them had significantly decreased – less than half remained. But it seemed that the survivors were the tougher out of the men who were hired. Albel was fighting three tough mercs at once, slowly cutting them down to size. Nel had no doubt that he would win.

She dodged a blow from another mercenary wielding a mace, and quickly disposed of him with a clean, harsh hit into his midriff, knocking the breath out of him and causing him to lose consciousness. She backflipped to dodge another, and something caught her eye midway. She righted herself and dove for the floor, and slashed the back of the boot of the man who had tried to attack her. He gave a cry and fell, disabled. She kicked his weapons away from him and looked behind her, where she noticed Lockroi dancing with nerves on a platform of boxes, shouting something. She concentrated, trying to listen above the noise of the clashing weapons ringing through the air. And she realized that he was still screaming Albel's name, hoping that he was still inflicted.

Nel smirked and glanced over at Albel, seeing that he had won over the three men and was now reaching for the fourth when:

"**_Albel Nox_**" Lockroi screamed.

And Albel reacted.

Nel watched in shock as Albel reached for the man he was to attack, dropped his sword and grabbed the stunned man's shoulders, and kissed him. Everything was blocked out from Nel's mind, but distantly she knew she had to act. Her body was in action before her mind realized it. Nel darted into the ring of mercenaries surrounding Albel and the mercenary who was so shocked that he had dropped his weapons. One thought was lodged into her brain: _the solution has worn off._ _Albel is in danger._

"Move, bitch!" a mercenary shouted, aiming his club at Albel's unprotected head. A rune spell was on her lips, and balls of fire shot from her hand to scorch the attacker's face. The other mercenaries stepped over their writhing ally to advance on Nel and Albel, Albel who was finally saying "I hate you" to the man.

"**_Albel Nox_**!" Lockroi shouted gleefully.

Nel swore violently and mustered up her energy. This time, a ring of fire sprouted out from beneath the feet of the men and shot up in violent flames to consume them. Nel winced her eyes and cut off the spell. After blinking away the spots dancing in her vision, she was satisfied to see that the all of the remaining men had caught fire and were running towards the exit of the warehouse, effectively ignoring Lockroi's shrill orders. The man who had been held tightly in Albel's grasp also seemed to have passed out from the lack of air, even though Albel was still standing. "I hate you," Albel gasped, unsealing his lips from the nearly-suffocated mercenary. "And I hate this," Albel muttered, wiping his lips on the back of his arm. "It wore off too soon."

"It would seem that way," Nel agreed. "But we've only got Lockroi left, and reinforcements should be here-" Nel cut herself off, noting a gleam with her keen eyes from between crates. It took her half a second to identify the shiny object – an arrowhead pointed straight at Albel's heart.

Once again, she didn't have time to think. Her body moved, her hands dropping her daggers and moving almost dreamily in front of Albel, directly in the arrow's path. She heard herself say Albel's name. his lips just touched hers before a painful, sharp impact tried to burrow itself into her back, and she knew she was hit.

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**vox shade**: ohh, another cliffy! xD Nel's shot, Albel's vulnerable, and Lockroi's still alive! -gasp- 


	14. Chapter 14

**Say My Name**

**Written by** vox shade

**v/s: **Okay, I have a legitimate excuse this time. English and Biology homework plus a cold. And a million other things I had to do xD And yeah... this chapter is a bit more dramatic than the others. I'm not sure I like the ending much, but I'll leave that to you guys to decide. Remember to leave nice reviews Oh, and I might change my name to '+seraphym' okay? So look out for it!

**Disclaimer:** Star Ocean 3 belongs to Tri-Ace/Ubisoft/Square-Enix

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**Chapter Fourteen **

His lips kissed her. Held her there in the moment, just one moment. And in that moment she could see the flare of anger, guilt, confusion, maybe even a hint of betrayal in his beautiful crimson eyes. Maybe even love. A moment of suspended crystallized pain as the arrow sliced through the air and hit home in Nel's back. The moment was broken. _She_ felt broken.

Then she was falling. Onto the cold, hard floor, the movements jarring her bones and recurring the pain and agony, her jaw rattling so she bit her tongue. Copper on her tastebuds. Liquid ruby on the floor. Blankly, she wondered why she couldn't move her body – it didn't seem like she was hit in the heart. Or had it? Was she dying without knowing it?

Strong arms were now holding her, positioning her body so she was now looking up at Albel's face. It was only then that she felt the throbbing ache within herself, and she knew that she loved him. Perhaps, she was to leave him.

A sharp staccato of sound, slightly distorted to her ears pierced the air, and Albel leaned down to kiss her again. His hands were gripping her upper arms tightly, but she welcomed the pain because it seemed to dissipate the fog and darkness from her mind, allowing her to think a little clearly.

Albel withdrew, his lips dotted with her blood. His eyes were the same shade, as he murmured, "I hate you."

All Nel could manage to reply with her clumsy tongue was, "sounds like you really mean it, this time."

But Albel was already muttering, the familiar chant of the healing runology was halfway out from his lips before another arrow zinged over his head. Albel blocked another with his metal claws, the contact of metal on metal ringing through the air. Above, Lockroi sounded like he was screaming instructions to the archer. She couldn't see him from Albel's kneeling embrace…too many crates in the way.

"Nel," Albel said, his eyes still on the archer she couldn't see. "Wait for a minute. I'll take care of this."

Gently, he laid her on her side, careful not to disturb the arrow sticking out of her back like a porcupine quill. She was facing the crates now, listening to the sounds of fighting, and her own shallow breaths. It was getting harder to breathe. The cold from the floor was seeping into her bones again. She felt herself slipping, the darkness beckoning it's comforting finger. But wait, Albel said to wait. But she can't refuse the darkness…shouldn't even try, or so it seemed to whisper.

And so she slipped.

The doors to the warehouse burst open just as Albel managed to bash the archer's forehead into a nearby stack of crates, rendering him unconscious. Footsteps echoed, and Albel's fury, already boiling, peaked. _There are more of these fuckers around!_ But that thought was immediately swept aside as the familiar voices of Fayt, Sophia, Peppitta, Cliff, Maria, Mirage, and Roger called his and Nel's voices.

_Nel._

Grabbing the Crimson Scourge, he ran back and around the crates, back to the spot he had left Nel. He rounded the corner, and froze for a moment. Nel was laying on the floor, eyes closed, blood trickling from her lips, still. As still as death. Cold, black terror gripped his heart. Before he could reach her, a shout penetrated his trance.

He looked up to see the back of the filthy _scum_ running above on a walkway suspended above him with wires. Lockroi seemed to have abandoned his dead hired help to save his own skin.

Filth never became clean on its own. It must be scoured by another.

He shouted a warning to the others, who had gathered nearby, especially to Maria who had her laser gun at the ready. He took aim and swung.

The Crimson Scourge seemed to keen with savage pleasure as it sliced through the air and through Lockroi's back. He keeled over in an instant, falling to the floor behind a tower of boxes. An abrupt ending to the long chase.

But it wasn't really over. Nel was down. Possibly not breathing. He wouldn't think about that possibility – it just wasn't possible. The vibrant, strong, proud Aquarian who had penetrated the walls around his heart couldn't be dead.

Albel whirled on his spot and darted for Nel, Sophia and Maria already tending her. Sophia looked up with a mixture of relief and strain as everybody drew up. "She's still breathing. A deep puncture to her back, I don't think it's hit her pleura membrane though. The wound looks worse than it is, probably because it's so close to the heart. At any rate, we need to get her to the emergency room on the Diplo, and fast."

The next hour was a blur of relief, stress, a cacophony of emotions running through Albel's head like he'd never known. Nel was immediately carried out of the warehouse mindful of her injuries, and transported to the Diplo which had landed just outside. Albel didn't care why it was there, but was thankful that it was because it meant that they would be able to help Nel all the sooner. However, despite his protests he was kicked out of the sick bay, the others complaining of his angry stares.

So now he paced outside the door like a caged animal, trying to peer through the small circular windows for whatever glimpse he could catch of his only.

**Time Only Ever Moves Forward**

Nel was slowly drawn to consciousness. She didn't figure out what it was that did, until she felt hands on the top of her breastbone. But even though her mind was fuzzy, instincts were always acted on first. Automatically, her hand swung up and made contact with flesh – a sound of surprise more than pain and a thud. Nel sucked in a hissing breath as she realized her back was now throbbing dully with pain. She lowered herself back onto her bed as Albel stepped into her field of vision.

"Are you hurt?" Albel asked, worry flashing across his angled features, his eyes vulnerable. Nel frowned, slightly, her memory coming back to her slowly. "Yeah," she replied slowly, her voice feeling and sounding as though she hadn't used it in a while. "What happened to Lockroi?"

"Dead," Albel said unfeelingly. "I killed him."

Nel expelled a sigh. "Good. What happened afterwards?"

"You were taken to the Diplo, where they healed you. The arrow in your back didn't hit your lungs or heart, but it was very close to your spines and major nerves. That's why you were temporarily paralyzed. The operation took two days. For five days after, you slept."

"And the Queen and King?"

"Informed."

"Fayt and the others?"

"Outside your room. We're back in Peterney."

"Seraph, Sin and Soul?"

"Sticking around."

Good. So everything was in order. But even as she caught up with the sequence of events, she had the strange feeling that Albel was still holding anger in. the palpable intensity around him was unmistakable. She noticed his sword and gauntlet propped against her desk.

"Albel, is something wrong?" Nel asked, propping herself up higher on the pillow so she was supported.

He chose not to comment for so long that she thought that he wouldn't speak until he abruptly cut the silence. "You put yourself in the way of the arrow. To block it from hitting me."

It was a statement, not a question. "Yes. My body just sort of moved on its own."

Albel sat down at the end of her bed and treated her to a penetrating stare. "Do you know what it's like to watch someone sacrifice themselves for you?"

Nel remembered Tynave and Farleen volunteering to be decoys to draw off Albel's men that fateful day long ago. "Yes."

Albel's mouth formed a hard, grim line. "Don't you ever do that again, Nel."

Nel started to bristle at that. "Why? Why can't I try to protect those I care for? The ones I love?"

Her question floated baldly between them, and it seemed to surprise him. It surprised her too, her declaration of love. But he quickly recovered.

"And that's the reason why I don't want you to do it. I've already lost someone I loved once before. I can't go through it again." Albel perceived her unasked question. "It was my father."

Nel looked down. "I know. Woltar told me."

Albel got up and knelt beside her, drawing her gaze. "It's not like I don't appreciate it," Albel said gruffly, his gaze a little above her eyes. "But I'd rather it be me than you."

Nel smiled as Albel stumbled over expressing his feelings other than anger. It was kinda cute, and it alleviated the tension in the room. "You know I feel the same about you, don't you?"

This time, Albel did meet her eyes and smiled. A smile, not a smirk or empty stretch of the lips. A real one, one that was worth bearing his cold attitude for. His past attitude made this smile all the more pure. Nel couldn't help but land a light kiss on his lips.

Suddenly there was a gasp and a squealed "Sorry!" and the door shut. Nel had thought she had glimpsed a flash of brown hair. But she didn't need the visual aid to know that Sophia had accidentally intruded into her room at just the wrong moment.

Albel sighed and stood. "Are you hungry? You should be, from fasting for a week. Leingod and them stuck you with a needle into your wrist from a clear packet, and said it gave you all the nutrients you needed. But I don't think you can pass a real meal for some liquid."

Nel nodded, feeling the ache of her empty stomach. With the help of Albel, she climbed out of bed with wobbly limbs and too-long unused muscles. As soon as Albel opened the door, they were hit by sound waves –_ loud_ sound waves.

Looking at each other in puzzled silence, they bumped into Sophia. "Ah, sorry guys. There's lunch being served downstairs, and something's being shown in the living room. I haven't seen it yet, but I think you two are in it," Sophia said all in one breath before dashing past them down the hall.

They followed the noise to the living room, pausing briefly to grab two sandwiches from the table in the kitchen. They arrived to find the source of the noise being racous laughter from Fayt, Peppitta, Maria, Mirage, Cliff, Roger, Seraph, and Soul. Sin was standing by the huge plasma TV they had installed a few months ago, narrating something into a mike. Things were being passed around, hand to hand.

No one seemed to have noticed them yet, so both snuck around to the couch. Nel was trying to get a look at the things being passed when she felt Albel twitch. Nel looked up into the screen. At first she was confused, then it hit her like a wall. There was X-Candy, strutting down the floor with fat men in the Jacuzzi hooting. She bent over, casting them hot looks and a sexy smile before snapping back up, then strutting back to what Nel recognized as her own back (Smexy's back).

"_Better than expected right?"_

"_It really was something on your part, Albel. **Really** something."_

"Damn straight!" Cliff crowed, laughing and slapping his knees, tears streaming down his face. "I'd pay to see that in real life!"

"_On to the next part,_" Sin said into the mike. The video flashed and showed a new image. "_This is shot by Seraph."_

The screen showed a slightly shaking image of Albel by a wall, shedding his corset. It seemed the camera had been pinned to Seraph's shirt somewhere. Cliff and Roger whistled jokingly as Albel slipped out of his top, leaving his torso bare.

"_As you can see, he has chosen to tattoo the letters 'N' and 'Z' on his fake breasts,"_ Sin said, snickering as everyone laughed. Peppitta was on the floor, pounding it with laugher.

Hands on the screen reached for the first, seemed to find a flap at the top of the breasts, and yanked hard with a sound of ripping Velcro.

"_Scum! What do you think you're doing!"_ Albel yelped on the screen, his left chest red from it.

"_Taking it off, what else?_" Seraph's voice asked, as her hands reached for his other breast.

_ChhhhhhAK!_

"_Argh! You could be more gentle about it, maggot!_"

"_Don't be such a crybaby. See, at least people can tell that you're more a man than a woman now_."

"_The hell are you insinuating, woman!_"

"_You work it out yourself_."

By now, everyone was in tears. Sin chuckled and raised the mike to his lips again. _"And check this out guys. Since the uniform he was wearing didn't have any pockets, he put the temporary solution into his bra. Oh, and careful with those breasts guys. They're the best we've made."_

Nel zoned in on Mirage's hands, which held the fleshy fake breasts. The black 'N' and 'Z' were visible. She smiled as Sin continued.

"_That's all we got to shoot of Albel and Nel. We have some shots of Cliff and Roger though. Let's check it out."_

The screen flickered to Mirage forcefully pouring the acidy purple liquids into Roger's mouth via headlock. Cliff was sitting on a chair beside them, gagging. _"Alright, let's test this out,"_ Mirage said to the cameraman. Fayt's voice replied with a 'yes'. Mirage brought Roger close to Cliff and before either could do anything about it, she said Cliff's name.

Everyone but Cliff and Roger laughed as the Cliff and Roger on the screen kissed. "Betrayal!" Cliff moaned piteously. "It was for the solution," Mirage said with a shrug, lobbing a breast at his head.

"At least we know why you were trying to cook before," Maria laughed. "It's also sad you botched the recipe so many times. I mean, I knew how to make the Locking Lips liquid the first time I read it."

"Hey hey hey," Cliff said with raised hands. "I was being paid, so it doesn't matter how many times I fail right? As long as I get it in the end."

"_You were what?_" two cold voices interrupted.

It was comical how everybody froze and slowly turned to the corner of the room, where Albel and Nel stood. Both seemed really really angry. And murderous. Both held blades in their hands, and their eyes seemed to glow with incandescent rage.

Nothing moved. Then on an invisible signal, everyone scrambled for the doors, laughing and shrieking as they dodged the two warriors and fled the house. Nel was pursuing Soul when he turned a corner sharply.

"_If you're ever in Greeton, drop us a line!"_ Soul called as he followed his siblings up the ramp of an unknown airship. The ramp closed behind him immediately, and it lifted into the air. With a '_phut!_' it arced across the sky and vanished behind the line of roofs.

"They just left?" Sophia asked, catching up to Nel breathlessly. Nel nodded.

"That's too bad," Fayt said, walking up to stand beside Sophia, looking at the line of roofs the airship disappeared behind. "We wanted to learn more from them."

Peppitta and Roger bounced up out of nowhere and waved to the sky even though they were long gone, dancing around in the setting sun giggling.

"Hey, anyone see Albel?" Cliff asked as he drew up to the crowd with Maria and Mirage.

There was a shout and the crowd dispersed as Albel chased after them. Needless to say, no one could sleep that night. However, they did get a lot of complaints from the neighbours.

* * *

**v/s:** this is the gist of it, for those of you who may have not caught it - Sin, Seraph, and Soul paid Cliff and Roger to make the Locking Lips liquid and pour it on Albel. Why? I'll leave it to you to analyse my strange creations xD 


	15. Epilogue

**Say My Name**

**Written by** vox shade

**v/s: **Alright guys, this is it! The ending of Say My Name. A wonderful fifteen chapters, and it was fun hearing your reviews! Thank you for all your encouragement and support xD Please look forward to my next fics here! They may not necessarily be Al+Nel, but drop in anyway xD

**Disclaimer:** Star Ocean 3 belongs to Tri-Ace/Ubisoft/Square-Enix

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**Epilogue**

It was the next day after the Greeton siblings had left Peterney to go back to their homeland. With them, to Albel and Nel's anger and embarrassment, evidence of their adventures had disappeared. Which included the fake breasts, the video footage, and the Blood Bar uniforms, posters of Albel and Cliff's kiss, the message in a bottle sent by Daddy's Little Rich Boys, a snapshot of Albel and Lasselle's kiss, and even the iguana Albel had tripped over. Maria had explained that the siblings had been stalking them to take shots of their adventures to turn into a TV show back in Greeton. Apparently they were linked to the media industry who were interested in the Heroes of the Universe, and had been commissioned to make a little show of them.

And although they had been commissioned, it had been entirely their idea to use the Locking Lips liquid to initiate the show. When Albel demanded to know if Lockroi had been part of their show crew, Fayt answered with a 'no'. The mission had been entirely coincidental. A bonus for the siblings.

"So, how early on did you know about all this?" Nel had asked at lunch with narrowed eyes.

Sophia had explained that Cliff and Roger knew it all since the beginning, because the siblings had contacted them, explained their show, and the two had agreed to make it. They had been a hefty sum, according to them even though they hadn't revealed how much it really was.

Cliff picked up the story from there. During the time they had been spending to come up with an antidote to the Locking Lips, both he and Roger had been dosed with the Locking Lips. Mirage had noticed that they hadn't put up much of a fight, and sensed something was wrong. After Cliff and Roger had refused to reveal anything, Mirage had invited Adray over. She'd lured Adray, Cliff and Roger into a room to have tea when she'd activated the alarm system. Metal filters had covered the windows in the room, a titanium door had slid over the real one on both sides. There was no way to get out. And that was when Mirage had threatened to shout Cliff and Roger's names through the door if they did not give up what they knew.

Nel smirked, remembering that she'd threatened Albel with the same threat early on in the mission.

Cliff and Roger had immediately surrendered, not doubting Mirage. And so, inside the inescapable room locked in with a confused Adray, Cliff and Roger gave up the information. They already had the antidote, given to them by three siblings from Greeton who had commissioned them to 'accidentally' disable Albel. They also had the temporary antidote, which they were to give to Albel before the full one.

Upon hearing this, Albel had decided that Cliff had one too many heads and had tried to decapitate him with his claws by swinging over the table.

Once he'd calmed down, Cliff had handed over the full antidote and Albel had immediately consumed it along with his lunch.

After lunch, they had congregated in the living room to settle their stomachs and talk. Everyone but Albel wanted to see the siblings again. When asked why he didn't want to see them again, Albel had brooded silently until he said that Nel had nearly been killed.

By this point, everyone knew that there was more than a little chemistry between the two, and Nel just looked down and a faint tint of pink graced her cheeks. Everyone either smirked or giggled, but sobered down enough to explain that the sibling had let them fight because they knew that the two were more than enough to handle Lockroi and a few petty thugs. They had not counted on the archer, but had stood by in the Diplo close to the warehouse in case anything unexpected did happen, so that they and Fayt and the others could come to help as soon as possible.

That had proved a blessing, because without the Diplo's advanced technology, Nel would have likey become paralyzed or worse. Albel didn't seem so mad after that, but kept a thoughtful silence as the others continued to chat.

And now it was dinner, everyone feasting on the delectable dishes made by Sophia and Nel. Cliff mentioned about going to visit his sensei.

"I'm going with you," Mirage said quietly.

"Great," Cliff said with a smile, a noodle poking out from his lips.

"Actually, I have to go visit Mom," Fayt said. "She's wanted to see me and Sophia for a while."

"I have to go visit Dad, now that you mention it," Roger chimed in.

"And I'm off to the Troupe!" Peppitta giggled. "There's a show coming to Peterney soon, so they want me to show them around and practice the act with them! You guys are all invited – it's a month away."

"Well, if everyone's leaving then I'll have to go visit Headquarters," Maria said between mouthfuls.

Nel didn't say anything. She'd already contacted the Queen, and had promised to see Claire the next week when she was free. She had no parents to visit, and her subordinates were doing fine under Clarire's supervision. She wondered if Albel was leaving to visit Arzei or Woltar or his subordinates.

A hand found the one in her lap and squeezed. Nel started before realizing it was Albel. He wasn't looking at her (he was finishing off his soup), but he gave her a reassuring squeeze all the same. Nel smiled and started finished off her teriyaki, returning it.

Lately, she had been floating on a cloud. Her wound was healing quickly with regular healing runology spells, at set intervals, and her relationship with Albel almost seemed surreal. Who knew that they would be so compatible? If someone had told her that she'd wind up with Albel when she'd first met him, she would have escorted them personally to the nearest asylum.

And to be honest, she didn't know everything about him. He had a temper, a harsh tongue, and a general 'piss off' expression all the time. But that was okay – she learned a lot about him. The main reason that he didn't let anyone close, was that he was afraid that he would lose them because of him. Like how his father had sacrificed himself to save his son, and that had scarred him.

But what is life without thorns? Nel reflected to herself as she helped wash the dishes after dinner. Without those difficulties she had encountered with him, she would have never learned anything about him.

As soon as she was finished, Nel stepped out of the kitchen to head for her room to cast the healing spell when he noticed Albel standing in the foyer, talking to someone. She stepped around, and identified the other to be the same messenger who'd been sent by Arzei to tell them about the mission. They looked grave, talking to each other.

Nel felt a twinge. So, Arzei _was_ sending for one of his right-hand men. She meant to leave quietly, but somehow her foot brushed a shoe and it clattered on the floor, drawing attention to her.

At first, both just looked at her and Nel as going to give a hasty apology and retreat when Albel marched down the hall and grabbed Nel around the waist and faced the messenger. "I'm not going back, not for a while," Albel said clearly with determination. "And if you argue again, this hellion will give you her piece of mind as well."

Nel had been glaring at Albel and struggling, but then turned to the messenger as she got the idea. The messenger seemed slightly taken aback by the intensity of her glare, along with Albel's own. Needless to say, he'd never felt more unwanted in his life.

When Nel noticed the messenger was about to speak again, she turned impulsively and wrapped her arms around Albel's neck and drew him into a soul-marking kiss. He seemed a bit surprised at first, then joined in whole-heartedly, growling an approval as he tightened his arms around her waist. The messenger squawked indignantly, said something and the door opened and shut.

Neither Nel or Albel noticed his leaving. They didn't notice anything but each other until someone squealed and another yelled, "get a room!"

Nel and Albel ignored Roger and Cliff until they left, laughing. Finally, they surfaced and Nel regarded Albel with bright emerald eyes. "You're not going?" she asked. "Don't you have to report to Arzei?"

"He can wait," Albel replied, smiling lazily. "I have more important things on my mind."

"And when you do go?" Nel persisted.

Albel's drew her close and kissed her ear. "I'm at your beck and call. All you have to do is Say My Name."

* * *

**v/s: **Remember to look forward to '+seraphym's' fics! My new name later on xD 


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